Industry experts have slammed reports of a year-long rent freeze for the PRS as untenable on top of the Renters’ Rights Bill, saying rent controls don’t work and could put some landlords out of business.
According to Pegasus Insight Landlord Trends Q1 2026 data, six in ten (61%) of landlords plan to increase rents in the next 12 months – three in four (75%) due to the Renters Rights Act.
Mark Long, founder and managing director of Pegasus Insight, said: “A rent freeze would represent unprecedented intervention in the private sector, thwart the business plans of the majority of landlords and potentially force some out of business.
The straw that breaks the camel’s back
“Landlords are not setting rents in a vacuum. Many are already factoring in the impact of the Renters’ Rights Bill, alongside higher costs, and that is feeding directly into pricing decisions. Introducing a rent freeze into that environment could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for those already struggling to balance the books,” he said.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said a rent freeze would be a disaster for landlord and investor confidence, as well as supply. “Any hope of growing the market– or even retaining the homes that millions of families rely on – would be lost. There is no evidence to suggest that it would make rents more affordable. In fact, the impact on supply would inevitably drive new rents still higher.”
Oli Sherlock, managing director – insurance at Goodlord, said that it duplicated policy and risked confusion. “At a time when landlords, agents and tenants are trying to prepare for the biggest legislative shift in decades, this kind of political ‘kite-flying’ is deeply unhelpful.”
A need for clarity and consistency
He continued: “If the goal is to improve affordability and stability in the private rented sector, we need clarity and consistency; not overlapping interventions that risk undermining confidence just as the sector is adjusting to major reform.”
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, also slated the proposals. “With the UK Government introducing huge regulatory change through the Renters’ Rights Act, which will ultimately mean less flexibility and higher costs for landlords and tenants, it is alarming to hear reports that the Chancellor is considering additional rent control measures – particularly when Housing Ministers have recently publicly denounced their role.”
Douglas said such controls don’t work. “Evidence from across the UK, particularly in Scotland, shows rent controls restrict supply, deter investment, and reduce choice for tenants. Singling out landlords to solve the cost of living is not the answer.” However, the London Renters Union, which is calling for rent controls that apply to the property not the tenancy, said that claims by some landlords that a rent freeze would make being a landlord unprofitable don’t stack up, citing figures from the English Private Landlord Survey 2024, which said 41% of landlords had no borrowing on any of their properties and 42
