Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer and the party’s controversial Mayor of London Sadiq Khan are at loggerheads over rent controls.
Khan has for five years been demanding that government give him powers to impose rent controls on the private lettings sector. Over 30 per cent of the capital's households privately rent.
Likewise recently Khan demanded that the Tory government impose an immediate two year private rent freeze, claiming it would be a “lifeline” for a growing number of Londoners who he says are being pushed into homelessness.
However Sir Kier appears to think otherwise.
Speaking at Khan’s re-election campaign launch in London, Starmer said: “In relation to rent controls, that’s not our national policy. I can assure you that Sadiq and I work very closely together. Sadiq feels strongly about this. But look, we will work together as we go forward.”
He added: “The idea, for me, to be working with my friend Sadiq across London - the Mayor of London and a Labour Government working together - that would transform so many lives.”
In recent years Labour has yo-yo’d on rent controls with Lisa Nandy appearing to agree and then disagree with rent controls during her period as shadow housing secretary.
However, she left office late last summer saying controls risked landlords quitting the sector and exacerbating rent rises - a position adopted since then by her successor and party deputy leader Angela Rayner.
Last autumn a poll revealed that over a third of private landlords would sell properties if rent controls were introduced in their area.
The data, from polling firm YouGov for the National Residential Landlords Association, shows 37 per cent would reduce the number of properties they let if an external agency like a council was given authority to set rents both during and between tenancies.
The NRLA says that such an exodus of landlords could have “a devastating impact on the supply of homes to let at a time of ever-increasing demand.”
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Khaaaaaaaan!
What a Khant.
A fellow Trekkie 🚀🚀.
Sad. I. Q......
Simon, your comment has no logic. :)
Leftards!
London is where it definitely gets murky when it comes to property, much is owned by The Duke of Westminster and another huge chunk by various oligarchs and off shore invisible entities who combined have significant financial control and could really cause major difficulties for a sinister left Government. I think we'll see various amounts of window dressing by Labour but significant intervention? That could prove a real headache for Labour.
Well just be grateful you’re not in Scotland with this SNP/Green mob in charge!
Done more damage to the PRS than a demolition contractor could do!
Clueless and dictatorial to the extreme.
Time for change!!
Is this suggesting Angela Rayners not for rent controls? Mmm .. not trusting that!
Oh Labour, and especially Mr Can't, how we enjoy the incoherent ramblings of the Terminally Stupid.
I don’t own any props inside the Magic Roundabout- but Tories labour neither of em can make up their minds. So therefore leave things alone. Till you have a REAL FIRM decision. Not mubblings . But look at the f up in Scotland that’s been caused by it.
I think it’s better to get out while you still can.
I agree with Nick. The golden days of being a landlord are over. If we think Conservatives bad, and they are, wait until Labour are in government.
Mr Khan my friend if you want to reduce homelessness and improve the Private Rented Sector the answer is staring you in the face.
Scrap the causes mainly the witch-hunt by Removing THE RENTERS REFORM BILL, LICENSING SCHEMES, SECTION 24 and Retain SECTION 21 the Birth of all Private Letting before which there wasn’t any, did you not know that, now that’s not too difficult is it. I understand all those thousands of leaches not capable of doing a real job living off our backs will be unemployable
It’s today’s numpties that are breeding these leaches and importing them. You are talking to a brick wall sadly. They are all entitled to everything and do nothing in return. Many are not even required to look for work these days.
But no controls over those factors increasing landlord costs ?
Mr Khan't not happy with pi@sing off every motorist who goes into London by imposing/extending his tax and spend ULEZ policy and also pi@sing off every council tax payer in London with his 1100 staff members being paid over £100k per year, (most of who work for TFL). He now want to pi@s off every Landlord in the capital by imposing rent controls. It's time for this useless fool to be show the door.
Why is it we never hear these politicians calling for a caps on taxation, caps on excessive government regulation, caps on mortgage interest rates, caps on council tax, caps on money grabbing council licensing schemes and caps on other ever increasing costs imposed on LL's?
Tenants need to be awaken to the true root causes of increasing rent costs. The key drivers being excessive government regulation, excessive government taxations, mortgage interest cost increases, costly local government licensing schemes, all these costs get passed on to tenants, the LL's have no other option but to pass on costs or sell up and leave the sector. Leaving the sector means less PRS property on offer.
Rent caps will simply lead to even less property available to rent. They have never worked anywhere they have ever been used globally.
I trust what Labour say as much as I did our previous PM….. Bungling Boris 😱😱🫣🫣
I think the magic circle is within the M 25 if you are Private Landlord, god help you hit with every adverse regulation they can think of, the disease is rapidly spreading around the country.
We also have Mr Sadiq Khan’s baby ULEZ & LES and Congestion Charges to screw us, speed humps to stop us speeding @ 20 mph in restricted zones, we have roads blocked off Willy Nilly, temporary works traffic lights everywhere where not required all in the fake name of health &
safety causing endless queues, pollution
and millions of lost hours to businesses and production. What was wrong with a few road signs, temporary cones and where did all the temporary road lamps go ?. I often filled them with paraffin oil years back and in recent times much easier battery operated flashing yellow beacons now all disappeared and replaced with temporary traffic lights queuing a mile long, don’t put them in charge of a pea up in a Brewery they’ll muck it up.
As sure as night follows day, rent controls will follow Labour winning the General Election.
They still have to win it.
starmer isn't much different to kinnock and we know what happend there
I demand a lifetime ban on the pair of them.
The losers in all this are the tenants . Private landlords leaving the property market and no properties left to rent. what is left has 20 to 30 renter trying to rent one property. Rents will now double as a result of this lunatic's in Westminster.
The first thing is to get Khan out before he totally destroys London we all must fight back !!!!
David, of Course the Tenants are the biggest losers but they have the gaul to pretend that they are helping them? and as a cover to make them swallow it tell them that they can stay in another person’s property as long as they like, a Cuckoo not possible to have a viable Contract under those circumstances, so the landlord sells up then they can be sitting Tenants on the Street, bare face blatant lies by housing Secretary.
Removal of Section 21 has been very successful in creating homelessness I’ll have to give you that one but hasn’t helped anyone. They must be delighted with this hugely successful Campaign.
You think it's bad now, wait until labour gets in!
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