Why Rent Controls Remain Controversial
Interest in rent controls has increased as the cost of living and rents continue to rise. (Alamy)
6 min read
The political discussion around rent controls has become a hot-button topic in England and Wales as record-breaking rents continue to put pressure on households struggling with the rising cost of living.
In July, Rightmove reported that the average private rent for a home advertised outside London hit £1,397 per month, while London hit a record £2,791. And, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 2025, tenants in England pay over 30 per cent of their salary on rent on average, above what the ONS officially views as affordable.
The government rolled out its Renters' Right Act in May in order to give tenants more rights over the properties they rent in light of the increasing financial challenges facing renters, including the banning of Section 21 no-fault evictions, and ending Assured Shorthold Tenancies - also known as fixed-term contracts. However, the political discussions around rent controls remain active as rents continue to rise and the cost of living continues to put pressure on living standards.
Prominent UK political figures that have called for rent controls include London Labour mayor Sadiq Khan, Green Party leader Zack Polanski and even Prime Minister Andy Burnham while serving as Manchester mayor – before backpedalling after entering Number 10. In 2023, Burnham signed a letter supportive of rent controls - and in 2022, expressed support for them when seeking re-election as Manchester mayor.
What are rent controls?
Put simply, rent controls refer to controls by the government put on the rent landlords can charge their tenants. How far-reaching and how complicated the controls are can vary, including how regularly landlords are able to increase rents, the percentage increase landlords are allowed to increase rents by, or simple rent freezes for set periods of time. Rent controls did exist in various forms in the UK during the 20th century until the 1988 Housing Act, which ended rent controls for new lets in England and Wales.
Rent controls have also been implemented across the world, such as in San Fransico and Berlin - and also closer to home in Scotland, where a temporary emergency rent freeze and 3 per cent rent increase cap was implemented from 2022 to 2025. The goal is to protect tenants from steep rent increases, provide some predictability to rent rises in the future for tenants, and introduce some stability to rental prices.
Why are rent controls controversial?
Rent controls have been controversial in large part because their critics say they have unintended consequences - such as resulting in a scarcity of housing stock, which can therefore lead to ultimately higher rents, because it makes renting out properties a less attractive enterprise for landlords. A key report on the topic conducted by economist Konstantin Kholodilin, published in 2024, looked at several examples of rent controls around the world - and found that when rent freezes were announced in 2020 in Berlin, the number of rental properties available fell - and the number of rental properties moving from rented to privately owned rose steeply.
In the conclusion of his report, Kholodilin said that "although rent control appears to be very effective in achieving lower rents for families in controlled units", it also has a "number of undesired effects" - such as higher rents for properties without rent controls, lower mobility and reduced residential construction.
"These unintended effects counteract the desired effect, thus, diminishing the net benefit of rent control," said Kholodilin. "Therefore, the overall impact of rent control policy on the welfare of society is not clear."
Other critiques by hawks of rent controls include landlords simply increasing rents between tenancies instead, or landlords charging higher rates on properties exempted from rent controls like new builds. The example of Scotland, where an emergency 3 per cent cap on rental increases ended in 2025, and average rents spiked by more than 5 per cent immediately afterwards, is highlighted by critics of the policy.
What do those who support the policy argue?
Advocates of the policy say rent controls are successful in keeping down the price of rents when implemented as part of a system of rent controls - which Kholodilin concedes happened, albeit with unintended consequences.
Maya Singer Hobbs, senior researcher at the influential think tank Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), told PoliticsHome her organisation now supported rent controls but in a "comprehensive way" in order to avoid unintended consequences caused by rent controls. The think tank released a report in May titled 'High housing costs in the private rental sector: The case for action', outlining their proposals for what a rent control policy could look like.
"We recommend for rent controls to be applied to all tenancies, with a few caveats," Singer Hobbs told PoliticsHome, explaining some of the IPPR's proposals.
"And we recommend for them to be both within and between tenancies. The Renters' Rights Act limits rent increases to once a year anyway - so that would mean that, once a year, the landlord can raise the rent in line with the lowest of wage growth or inflation, and that would also apply between tenancies. If you move out, the landlord can't then jack up the rent by 20 per cent [for example] - and the reason that [measure] is important is because it means that there isn't a disincentive for moving out."
The IPPR proposes rent controls are rolled out nationally, as regional or area focus may act to create significant disparities in rent based on area. They also propose exempting new-build properties for ten years, and some exemptions for landlords carrying out improvement works on the property, in a bid to ensure the quality of rental housing does not decline as a result of controls.
What’s the government’s position on rent controls?
Housing secretary Angela Rayner in July told the BBC that she did not believe "rent freezes" or "rent controls" were the way forward "at the moment" when asked about Burnham's previous support for introducing rent controls.
"Three years ago, Andy called for that because there was a significant crisis in the rental market," said Rayner. "We implemented between then the Renters' Rights Act, which is giving renters more power and control."
But introducing rent controls remains a key priority of Labour's most powerful local mayor, London mayor Sadiq Khan - who in March reiterated his calls for the government to devolve powers to local mayors to allow them to enforce caps on rents.
"If young people are priced out of our fantastic city, London loses out," said Khan on X last year. "I back rent controls, and we need greater powers to make housing fairer, more secure and more affordable."
And earlier this month, Green Party leader Zack Polanski called for a "three-year emergency brake" on private rents, which would limit rents to rising only by wage growth or 2 per cent – whichever is lower.
“That emergency brake would give renters vital breathing space," said Polanski. "Let wages begin to catch up with the rents that have outstripped them for too long. And give government time to develop a national Fair Rents Guarantee – to keep rents fair and affordable for everyone, forever.”
In Scotland, the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 leaves space for "long-term, evidence-based rent controls" that can be "introduced in areas where rents are rising steeply". Local authorities in Scotland are set to send their first report to Scottish ministers on the topic by 31 May 2027, which "will inform decisions on whether to designate a rent control area".
