The leader of tenant activist group Generation Rent has renewed calls for the Labour government to introduce rent controls.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of the group, says: “[The latest] Price Index of Private Rents finds that private sector rents in the UK rose by 8.4% in the year to August 2024, a faster rate than the headline wage growth of 5.1%.
“Prices in the shops may have stopped rising so quickly, but renters are still seeing our single biggest cost go up faster than our incomes. This isn’t news to renters, who have been feeling this squeeze for a very long time as our landlords snatch away more and more of our wages.
“The government’s Renters’ Rights Bill, published last week, offers many positives for tenants, but the cost of renting crisis will rage on unless Westminster slams the brakes on these runaway rents.
“This Bill must contain protection from these unaffordable rent rises, which should mean preventing rent rises going above wage growth or inflation – whichever is lower. Alongside this, we desperately need more homes people can afford to live in, in the places people want to live, and we are pleased that the government have set out this long-term aim.”
Also calling for sympathy for renters is Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at business consultancy Hargreaves Lansdown who says: “If renters think there may be light at the end of the tunnel, they’re sorely mistaken. They’re in a deep, dark hole, and that light is coming from somewhere way out of reach.
“It’s not going to get any closer without significant change to the way the market is operating, and there’s no sign of that any time soon.
“Rents are up 8.4%, and while they’re not rising as fast as they have been, they’re still climbing. Plenty of landlords are selling up, and the threat of potential changes to capital gains tax in the Budget may have inspired more of them. Meanwhile, tenant numbers keep climbing.
“With Zoopla figures showing 21 tenants chasing each available property, you don’t need to tell renters that life is tough – and getting tougher.”
She says that the government will be hoping that the plan to build more homes will eventually ease the pressure, but this is a long-term ambition, and in the interim, there’s little hope for renters.
Coles continues: “For many, it means the only real light at the end of the tunnel is the prospect of buying. With prices so high, they need all the help they can get, and prospective buyers should seriously consider using a Lifetime ISA, so they can get a government bonus of up to £1,000 a year to put towards the deposit.”
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