link to ringley website
  • Home
  • About Us
    About us & leadership Awards Savings for Clients Case Studies Green Management Strategies Market Overview Leasehold Reform Campaign Money Back Guarantee
  • Our Services
    • Asset Management
      • UK Asset Management
      • Project Monitoring
      • ESG Consultancy & Implementation
      • PropTech & Living Sectors Platform
      • Marketing Insights
      • Resident Journey
      • Stabilised Assets
      • UK Build to Rent
      • UK Later Living
      • UK Co-Living
      • UK Student Accommodation
      • UK Single Family Housing
    • Block Management
      • Overview - London
      • Overview - Wales & West
      • Overview - Southwest
      • Right to Manage
      • Freehold Management
      • Resident Management
      • Estates of Houses
      • Ground Rent Collection
      • How to change agent?
      • Block Management Services
      • Can't afford an agent?
      • Legal & Tribunals
      • Top 10 Tips
      • Report an incident
    • Commercial Management
    • Law
      • Overview
      • Meet The Team
      • Recommendations
      • Right to Manage
      • Lease Extensions
      • Freehold Purchase
      • Absentee Freeholder
      • Court Appointed Manager
      • Conveyancing - Wales
      • Conveyancing - England
      • Service Charge/Rent Arrears Recovery
      • Company Secretary
    • Property Valuations
      • Overview
      • Loan Security
      • Company Accounts
      • Lease Extensions
      • Freehold Purchase
      • Rent Reviews
      • Ground Rent Investment
      • Development Valuations
      • Expert Witness & Litigation
      • Tax, Trusts & Accounts Valuations
      • Trading Business
      • Compulsory Purchase
      • Residential Valuations
    • Engineering
      • Overview
      • EWS1 Consultancy
      • Asbestos
      • Contract Administration
      • Fire Assesment
      • Homebuyer Survey
      • Building Survey
      • Schedules
      • Party Wall Matters
      • Principle Designer
      • Disability Access Audits
      • Small Building Works
      • Fire Door Inspection
      • Insurance Valuations
    • Property Accounting
      • Finance
      • Quote For Service Charge Accounts?
      • Property Accounting Law
      • Accounting Updates
      • To Audit or Not?
    • Plant & Facilities Management
      • Plant & Facilities Management
      • Fire Door Inspection APP
      • Fire Safety Update
    • Site Staffing Solutions
      • Ringley Integrated Site Staff Solutions
    • Leasehold Guidance
      • Overview
      • Right to Manage
      • Purchasing The Freehold
      • Court Appointed Manager
      • Absentee Freeholder
  • Insights
    Asset Management Articles Block Management Blogs Publications BTR Rental Market Blogs Customer Insights FAQ - Ask Our Experts Insurance Calculator
  • ESG
  • E-books
  • Get In Touch
  •    
  • Work with us
  •  
  • Portal Login
Rent control - do we really need it?

Written by: Mary-Anne Bowring 02/09/2020
  286       0
Responsive image

Every so often the thorny issue of rent control raises its head. Rent control was in the Labour Party?s 2017 election manifesto and it has the backing of London Mayor Sadiq Khan. The Mayor has now said he intends to outline a plan for stabilising and controlling rents for the 2.4 million renters now living in the capital. The London Mayor?s powers don?t extend to bringing in rent control across the city but he has said he will campaign for it and lobby the Government for his proposals to be accepted.


Rents in London are extremely high as a percentage of earnings compared to other parts of the country and private rents rose on average by a whopping 38% between 2005 and 2016. According to Mr Khan the arguments for rent control are ?overwhelming? and it is vital the Government acts to improve the quality of millions of lives. Londoners seem to agree with him. A recent survey confirmed that 68% of Londoners were in favour of capping the amount private landlords could charge tenants. But is rent control really the answer to renters' problems?
The argument against capping rental levels has always been that it will impact supply as landlords, unable to make a profit, take their properties off the market.

As the majority of private landlords only own one property this is a distinct possibility, especially as higher taxes are already eating away at profitibility in the buy-to-rent market. This would certainly add to the problems tenants already have in finding a suitable home to rent. Build to rent developers may also take a step back from the London market if they can?t make the figures add up on new developments. However, the rental market?s loss could be the housebuyer?s gain if there is a sudden flood of former rental housing onto the market.
In other major cities such as New York and Berlin, rent control has been in place for decades. The lesson to learn from the experience in these markets is that in tandem with bringing in rent control, it is important to provide a supply of social housing to mop up the shortfall in private rentals when some landlords, inevitably, decide to quit the market.


Mr Khan has invited Karen Buck, the MP behind the Homes (Fitness for Habitation) Bill, to work with James Murray, the deputy mayor for housing and residential development, to work up proposals for future rent control laws. This is clearly not as straightforward as it may at first appear and the additional social housing that Sadiq Khan has also pledged to provide for London must be brought into the mix, otherwise rent control could be completely self-defeating and simply hurt the people it is intended to support.
So will London follow the lead of other major cities around the world and become the first place in the UK to enforce a rental cap? Watch this space ? the next few years could be interesting.



Property Management Block Management
POPULAR POSTS

Solar panels on flats - what you need to know

Is noise getting you down?

Ground Rent: Fines for Landlords Who Charge Ground Rent

High Court: Right to Rent does breach human rights

Landlords beware - Don't believe everything you read!

RECENT POSTS

UK Leasehold Reform: Moving Towards Commonhold Ownership

Government to Introduce Single Construction Regulator by 2028 in Response to Grenfell Inquiry

Real Estate Experts Urge House of Lords to Amend Renters Reform Bill

Real Estate Developers Boost Investment in UK Student Accommodation Sector

Changes to Right to Manage Rules Announced Under Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024



Blogs related:

ASSET MANAGEMENT
Property managers take centre stage on safety
Ringley CEO Mary-Anne Bowring and Life by Ringley MD Sam Hay discussed the future of building safety at an RICS event in Manchester last November. The golden thread of data, which Dame Judith Hackitt's building safety review recommends, will be established for high-risk residential buildings (HRRBs) across the country. The review also introduces the framework for a new Joint Competent Authority (JCA) to focus on building safety.

Read


ASSET MANAGEMENT
How long will the eviction ban last?
Some rent is better than none so talking to your tenants about rent arrears makes sense The eviction ban could be extended beyond lockdown, according to Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick. So landlords hoping to replace renters in arrears with new tenants who can pay their rent on time are likely to be disappointed. Anyone in rent arrears will not be forced out of their home as soon as the eviction ban is lifted. Instead, the Government is to de...

Read


ASSET MANAGEMENT
UK Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper Introduces New Reforms
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities published the fairer private rented sector White Paper. This White Paper forms and builds on the government's wider plans for leveling up. The government's 12-point plan of action detailed in the White Paper considers the main issues affecting commercial landlords in the country’s private rented sector (PRS).Introduction of a Private Rented Sector Decent Homes Standard (DHS)The governmen...

Read


Meet our Expert Property Commentators

Mary-Anne Bowring FTPI FRICS FARLA FCABE Founder/Head of Asset Management

Strategic partnerships, holistic delivery/ opportunities, growth, value engineering, thought leadership

Ian Barber MD BTR Mobilisation & Leasing

Runs HQ & site lease-up teams. Drives rent pricing, mobilisation, marketing, happy residents!

Jon Curtis MRICS Head of Building Engineering

Chartered Building Surveyor. Lectures on EWS1 & building safety. Runs CapEx programmes.

Kate Robinson MTPI MD Blocks/FM Management (London Region)

Master plan setup, ops and staffing and resident engagement. ISO45001 champion.

Lee Harle Partner Ringley Law

Plot conveyancing. Debt litigation. Group Company Secretary.

Anthony Kingdon MIRPM AssocRICS MD Blocks/FM Management (North Region)

Stakeholder engagement. Mixed tenure specialist. Budget management. Plant audit, PPM compliance.

Chris Georgalis MRICS Head of Commercial Valuation

Chartered Valuer. Rental valuations: retail, leisure. IRR modelling and valuations for secured lending. Compulsory purchase & rent reviews

Nichola Pughe MRICS Head of Residential Valuation

Chartered Valuer. Rental development & mixed use valuations, IRR modelling. Leasehold enfranchisement specialist

Natalie Birmingham Helpdesk Support Manager

Trainer & Helpdesk Manager: people, systems,contractors. ISO45001 supply chain accreditation.

Steve Norman Planning Director

Land due diligence (opportunities & constraints) Has contributed to a number of award winning schemes.


inshights shared - link to planetrent blogs

Landlord blog
Read landlord blog
inshights shared - link to ringley blogs

Property blogs
Read property blogs
inshights shared - link to ringley articles

Property articles
Read property articles
inshights shared - link to ringley ebooks

E-books
Read E-books

link to ringley social media facebook link to ringley social media instagram link to ringley social media linkedin link to ringley social media x-twitter
link to ringley social media x-twitter for small device
link to ringley social media linkedin for small device
link to ringley social media instagram for small device
link to ringley social media facebook for small device
  • Ringley Group
  • About us
  • CSR / ESG
  • BusyLiving
  • PlanetRent
  • Talk to us
  • Careers
  • Ask a Question
  • Insights
  • Articles
  • Blogs
  • Subscribe
  • BTR & PRS Buildings
  • What we do
  • Asset Management
  • Block Management
  • Facilities Management
  • Property Law
  • Surveying / Valuation
  • Building Engineering
  • Financial Services
  • Managing Agents
  • Block Management Locations
  • Co-working
  • Renting & Letting
  • Right to Manage
  • Contractor Management
  • Space to Work
  • Fees and Client Money Protections
  • Email: solutions@ringley.co.uk

  • Emergency line 1: 0207 428 2056

  • Emergency line 2: 0207 267 2900

  • Report an incident
  • Our Offices
  • London
  • Ringley House
  • 1 Castle Road
  • London
  • NW1 8PR
  • T: 0207 267 2900
  • London
  • Ringley House
  • 47 Rochester Place
  • London
  • NW1 9JL
  • Manchester
  • 11 Swan Street
  • Northern Quarter
  • Manchester
  • M4 5JJ
  • T: 0330 174 7777
  • Cardiff
  • 122 West Bute Street
  • Cardiff Bay
  • Cardiff
  • CF10 5LJ
  • T: 0330 174 7747
Privacy Policy
Ringley Staff Dashboard
link to ifsm website link to tpi website link to tpos website link to rics website link to ukgbc website link to government security industry authority website link to alep website

All content © copyright 2025. Ringley Limited. All Rights reserved. Ringley Limited, incorporated and registered in England and wales. Registered office: Ringley House, 1 Castle Road, London, NW1 8PR. Company No. 03302438
Terms of use | Privacy Policy | Modern slavery act | COVID-19 risk assessment