The government has confirmed that it has no plans to introduce rent controls for private homes, following rumours that the Treasury was mulling a one-year rent freeze in response to the financial impacts of the Iran war.
Yesterday (28 April), The Guardian reported that the rent freeze was being considered by chancellor Rachel Reeves.
However, when asked about the rumoured plans in a Times Radio interview this morning, housing secretary Steve Reed said: “I’ve just been crystal clear, we’re not doing it.”
He added: “The reason we’re not doing that is when it was introduced by the Scottish government in Scotland, it ended up with rents going up much higher and the amount of homes that were available to rent going down.
“And it’s not just Scotland; that’s happened in other countries around the world as well. So we don’t want to make life harder for renters. We’ll do everything we can to make their lives better.”
Reeves had not denied plans for a rent freeze when the issue was raised in the House of Commons yesterday, saying she would “do everything in my power and use every lever we have to bear down on the cost of living, including for people in the private rented sector”.
She added: “We must ensure that this conflict in the Middle East does not result in our constituents being poorer.”
The rumours of a possible rent freeze prompted property experts to warn that such a move would risk “distorting the market and undermining investment”.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said this week’s rumours marked “another example of the government not being properly aligned” on policy in light of conflicting messages.
“It seems like the chancellor has been tempted to try to raise her popularity on rent control, without thinking it through,” Berry added.
Speaking in the Commons earlier this month, housing minister Matthew Pennycook reassured the industry that the government opposed rent controls, in response to the Green Party’s call for a rent freeze.
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