Reporting around Rent Controls

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) in the Media is run by the Press Office.

It has been reported in the media that the Government is planning to give the Mayor of London powers to impose rent controls.

This is not true. Fixing Britain’s housing crisis is one of our top priorities, and giving struggling renters more rights and security is an important issue for this Government, but there have been no conversations with the Mayor of London about introducing rent controls.

In the King’s Speech, the Prime Minister announced our Renters’ Rights Bill, that will put an end to rental bidding wars. This will stop renters being pitted against each other and forced to pay more than the original asking price of the property when trying to secure a home.

We have asked London to deliver record levels of housebuilding, whilst committing to rebalancing the rented sector, protecting renters and cracking down on the small number of landlords who exploit tenants with bad practices.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said:

"This government has no plans whatsoever to devolve rent control powers.

“Lack of supply is fuelling the housing crisis, and we are taking action to boost housebuilding. We will work closely with the Mayor and Boroughs so we can increase housing delivery in London.”

The blog features a review of leading media stories, rebuttal of inaccurate comment, and updates about MHCLG campaigns and stories.