London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 07, 2025

Something has to give in this infernal housing rental market

Something has to give in this infernal housing rental market

LONDON rents have hit yet another record high, eating up 62 per cent of the average renting household’s post-tax income, according to one estate agent. Meanwhile, another record: the number of private tenants facing eviction for falling behind on their rent.

So what can be done?

One option is to do nothing. We’re familiar with this because it’s been happening for years. But with private renting now the second largest tenure in England, accounting for a fifth of households, doing nothing is hardly the vote-neutral choice it once was.

Mayor Sadiq Khan yesterday joined forces with renters’ charities to demand Government action to protect the capital’s 2.6 million private renters from spiralling costs and the spectre of homelessness.

He also called for an emergency rent freeze, a policy unsurprisingly popular among renters, not so much among landlords. Buy-to-let mortgages require rental income to cover at least 125 per cent of mortgage payments, meaning landlords with mortgages must charge higher rents as interest rates rise.


Housing minister Michael Gove

Still, as their profit margins decline, landlords do often sell up, decreasing the supply of rental homes without denting demand. Evidence from other cities suggests that rent controls can make it harder to find a home and may push up rents in other areas. Meanwhile, landlord lobby groups invoke the notorious Fifties slumlord Peter Rachman if landlords can’t raise rents to cover maintenance costs. On the other hand, renters anecdotally already find it hard to get repairs and also find themselves summarily evicted if they even ask, such is the precarity of life under the two months’ notice term spelt out under Section 21.

Rent controls, a possible solution, cannot happen in a vacuum. First, we need the proposed legislation banning no-fault evictions to be enacted. Then we also need investment in new social housing to ease competition for private rentals. The Government already pumps money into housing — Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday cost the Treasury £6.4bn, while new-build buyers were lent £20bn via Help to Buy.

So far all the tinkering with the housing sector — cutting tax relief and upping capital gains — has been about making it harder to be a buy-to-let landlord. The help this was supposed to provide to renters was that landlords would then sell up and renters could buy those properties. In fact house prices have continued to rise and millions remain locked out of their local housing markets.

Nothing, though, has been done for at least 30 years to help renters directly. Now is the time for the Government to make concrete interventions. A rent cap might be a blunt instrument but it’s a start.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
×