Labour's Lisa Nandy rejects rent controls as 'short-term fix'

Labour's Lisa Nandy has rejected the idea of rent controls, describing it as a "sticking plaster on our deep-seated problems".

The shadow housing secretary said the policy would "almost certainly" leave some people homeless.

In September, she had said local leaders should be able to freeze rents in their areas over the winter.

Labour mayors including Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham have called for rent freezes.

Tenants in the UK faced the highest rent increases on record last year, with private rents rising by 5% in the 12 months to May, according to the latest official figures.

"As the mortgage crisis deepens - for homeowners and renters alike - it is perhaps inevitable that the debate has turned again to short term fixes," Ms Nandy told a housing conference in Manchester.

"And when housebuilding is falling off a cliff and buy-to-let landlords are leaving the market, rent controls that cut rents for some, will almost certainly leave others homeless.

"It might be politically easier to put a sticking plaster on our deep-seated problems, but if it is cowardice that got us here, it is never going to get us out."

A Labour source told the BBC there was concern about the potential "unintended consequences" of rent controls, including an increase in evictions.

It marks a change from comments Ms Nandy made at last autumn's Labour Party conference, where she said she was "personally very interested" in the idea of rent controls and believed local mayors and council leaders should be able to freeze rents in their areas over the winter.

The National Residential Landlords Association welcomed the move, saying rent controls would "do nothing to address the rental supply crisis".

The organisation has previously warned rent controls risk reducing the supply of available homes and the incentive for landlords to invest in their properties.

However, campaign groups such as Generation Rent have called for a temporary rent freeze to help tenants through the cost-of-living crisis.

The group's director Ben Twomey said: "The reason rents can go up so sharply is because we haven't built enough so that should be the long term aim.

"But when landlords' interest bills are going up, the government needs to step in to stop their tenants from bearing the cost, whether that's through rising rents or evictions."

In February, London's Labour mayor Sadiq Khan, along with his counterparts in Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Liverpool, Steve Rotheram, signed a letter backing a rent freeze.

Mr Khan has long argued for rent controls in London but does not have the power to implement them as this lies with central government.

His calls were supported by Jeremy Corbyn when he was Labour leader, who in 2019 said his party would not allow private rents to go up by more than inflation if it won power.

A six-month rent freeze in Scotland ended in April but controls remain, with most private rent increases limited to 3% for the next six months.

The Welsh government is considering whether to restrict rents private landlords can charge but there are no firm plans.

In England, the government opposes rent controls, arguing they lead to declining standards and a lack of investment.