Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer has set out a radical programme of devolution to local authorities at city and county level – and which could, by accident or design, herald the introduction of rent controls. 

Starmer says the first King’s Speech under a Labour government would include a so-called Take Back Control bill – reclaiming the slogan of Brexit supporters – and this bill would devolve powers to local communities over employment support, transport, energy, climate change, culture, housing, culture and childcare provision.

Although details were light in Starmer’s speech, the inclusion of housing in his devolution agenda means local mayors and councils may be in a position to implement rent controls, more landlord licensing and other controls over the private rental sector.

Labour local government politicians have been fiercely pro-active in recent months, calling for additional powers over private rental properties.

Labour’s Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, is recruiting 10 people to enforce a new initiative he’s calling his ‘Good Landlord Scheme’. The staff will tackle what he calls bad private rental housing and take action against landlords not maintaining their properties.

The Welsh Government – a majority Labour administration with the support of the nationalist party Plaid Cymru – is proposing a statutory licensing scheme which would require landlords using AirBnb and other short let platforms to prove they have insurance, permission for the premises to be let, a fire risk assessment, gas safety certificate, and proof of electrical safety. Local authorities in Wales would then use the licensing database to identify hotspots for excessive’ numbers of holiday pets, which may then trigger additional local restrictions.

In London the Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has been vocal in calling for the power to freeze rents, end Section 21 evictions, lift the benefit cap, and unfreeze Local Housing Allowance rates.

And Bristol’s Labour council last month launched a survey to gather views of local residents about rent controls although it currently has no powers whatsoever to introduce such controls. A council body, made up of representatives from across the housing sector including renters, is exploring the issues facing tenants, and options to tackle what the council calls “the rent crisis in the city.”

Starmer’s speech yesterday – setting out his plan for campaigning in 2023 – said the Take Back Control bill would be “a centrepiece” of Labour plans if it wins the next general election, scheduled for late 2024 or early 2025. He says he is “utterly convinced” the Westminster system is not working and blames it for “hoarding power” and implementing short-term “sticking plaster politics”.