Labour has stepped up its programme clamping down on what it calls “unscrupulous landlords strangling growth.”

Specifically this means ending bidding wars, capping upfront payments to secure properties, and require all landlords to make their properties EPC rating C or above by 2030.

Last autumn Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ditched EPC targets for the private rental sector, citing unreasonable costs for landlords.

Building on broad pledges contained in the Labour manifesto, the party now says private renters will be £250 a year better off under a Labour government after it forces landlords to improve the energy efficiency of rental homes.

Private landlords would no longer be able to auction rented homes to the highest bidder and requests for upfront rent will be capped, although it is not clear at what level.

This is in addition to existing commitments on Section 21 and other rental regulations.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner, also shadow housing secretary, says of her party’s latest pledge: “Time and time again, the Tories have failed to stand up for renters. From endless delays to no-fault evictions, to failure to sort damp, cold and mouldy homes, the Conservatives are failing working people.

“Labour will call time on a decade of Tory vested interest and put renters first. An affordable, secure private rented sector is vital for economic growth, allowing young people to save for a mortgage with more money in their pockets to spend in the day-to-day economy.

“Our plans will support good landlords but we are calling time on unscrupulous landlords strangling growth.

“Labour will take action to protect renters, with an immediate ban on no-fault evictions, an end to rental bidding wars and extended protections against damp, mould and cold.

“The only real way to make renting more affordable is to build more homes, that’s why we have a plan to build 1.5 million homes over five years as an antidote to Britain’s failing private rented sector.

“Renters will be better off with Labour.”

However, Labour’s new clampdown on bidding wars, high deposits and poor energy efficiency in rental homes has been dismissed as “tinkering” by a prominent voice in the Renters Reform Coalition.

The London Renters Union says Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner is merely “tinkering at the edges” and is failing to “protect” private sector tenants.

A spokesperson for the London Renters Union says: “Labour is tinkering at the edges of the UK’s affordability crisis when it should be tackling rising rents head on. We urgently need rent control to ensure everyone living in the private rental sector has a secure place to call home.

“Labour is right to highlight the problem of rip-off rents, but the new measures announced today would fail to protect tenants facing inflation-busting rent hikes and outrageous asking prices. Millions would be left without enough money to afford food or living with the constant fear of being driven out of their communities by spiralling housing costs.

“Landlords clearly cannot be trusted to regulate themselves. The evidence from cities across Europe shows that rent controls can make housing more affordable without undermining the supply of homes. 

“Labour must prioritise our right to a home over landlord profits and commit to real rent regulation.”

However any activist group in the Renters Reform Coalition takes a much more conciliatory tone towards the Labour initiatives.

Ben Twomey – chief executive of Generation Rent and himself a former Labour candidate in a local election – says: “The Labour party’s commitment to supporting renters is welcome. The process of reform cannot be held back by landlords’ vested interests any longer and the next government must stand up to people profiting from weak tenants’ rights.

“Banning Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions was a promise by all major parties at the 2019 election, which the government failed to deliver, so we’re pleased Labour has committed to doing this immediately. 

“Ending Section 21 will empower tenants to raise complaints when needed and protect families from homelessness.

“Too many of us are forced out of our homes by unaffordable rent rises so any new protections must stop the free-for-all that allows landlords to push rents up faster than tenants’ wages. 

“Labour has promised to enable tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases, but in order to do so must go further to slam the brakes on soaring rents, limiting increases to the lower of wage growth or inflation. 

“Tenants looking for a new place to live can face horrendous exploitation, including being asked to bid against other renters for homes, or pay up to six months’ rent in one go to get hold of the keys. This makes it particularly hard for people on low incomes to secure a tenancy. Landlords and letting agents should be required to charge only the advertised rent, and just one month plus the deposit up front.

“The commitment to raise minimum energy efficiency standards in privately rented homes to EPC Band C is an essential step towards lifting one in four private renters out of fuel poverty. Upgrading insulation and heating systems will also help counteract damp and mould problems that damage our health and belongings.”