AActivist group Generation Rent – plus a tenant, Bridget Chapman from Darlington in County Durham  – have started an online petition demanding caps on rent rises.

The petition is on Change.org, a platform associated with demands for radical transformation of major issues.

The preamble to the lengthy wording includes hints and templates on how to share the petition on social media to generate maximum signatures.

The petition is worded as being from an individual but quotes extensively from Generation Rent and ends by admitting that it has “the full backing of Generation Rent.”

Here’s the wording of it in full:

Right now, landlords can increase their tenants’ rent by whatever they want. Rents can, and do, suddenly go up. Sometimes by hundreds of pounds a month. Much faster than the cost of living and faster than our wages are increasing. 

This is what happened to me and my family after my landlord recently hiked my rent by £100.

I’ve been renting privately all my adult life, but getting a sudden rent hike still comes as a shock and has been very stressful, especially as the landlord gave us just one month’s notice. This is nearly a 20% increase!

As a single parent living with my two children, with one income to live on, the impact will ripple through my life. I feel broken down by this system. Extreme damp in my previous home led to me being rushed to hospital with pneumonia. 

I hoped this new home would be better, but once again, I’ve suffered a huge blow to my security. Rents in my local area in County Durham are high, and I cannot simply jump to another more affordable option.

This will have a huge impact on my finances, with my home now so much more of a struggle to afford each and every month. I was already struggling to cover my essentials; this shock rent rise will put even more of a strain on me. 

My mental health has been badly affected, and I worry about the long-term impact this will have on myself and my family.

Important reforms in the Renters’ Rights Bill are currently passing through Parliament. These will help to make renting fairer in England, including ending Section 21 evictions, which currently allow landlords to evict you without needing a reason.

But they do nothing to stop shock rent rises like the one my family has faced. While the government says tenants will be able to challenge “unreasonable” rent rises at tribunal, decisions will be based on what the rent would be if your home was re-let – not what you can afford.

As long as landlords can price their tenants out of their own homes with unaffordable rent rises, renters will still effectively face unfair evictions and be threatened with homelessness. Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation showing more than a third of private renters are living in poverty after housing costs. 

Meanwhile, Generation Rent’s research has shown 9/10 renters say the experience of renting has negatively impacted their mental health. 

Generation Rent’s winter 2024 survey found that the majority of renters (61%) reported that their landlord had asked them to pay a higher rent in the past 12 months with almost a quarter (24%) reported an increase over £100. This compares to just 9% reporting hikes of this size in July 2022, almost a threefold increase. 

Meanwhile, the 2024 English Private Landlord survey found one in five landlords hiked the rent by 15% or more the last time they renewed or extended a tenancy.

The most common reason that renters reported they had been given for their rent increases, was not because their landlord faced increased costs, or was struggling more, it was simply because of the rising rewards of “the market”. 

Almost a third (31%) of landlords had blamed higher market rents, while a further 7% stated that the increase was because of letting agent advice.

This is indefensible. If renters are to finally feel secure in our own homes, we need protections from shock rent rises.

Private landlords should not be able to raise the rent higher than inflation or wages. The Government can and must act to change this.

Sign my petition, which has the full backing of Generation Rent, to demand the government introduces a cap on how much landlords can raise the rent.