Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer has urged the government to introduce rent controls after an official survey from the Office for National Statistics found that 43% of tenants found it difficult to afford their rent between February and May [1].
Denyer said:
“Everyone deserves a place to call home and so it is simply unacceptable that the government is not doing anywhere near enough to help the thousands of people who are struggling to pay rents that are shooting up with no relationship to incomes.
“The government could help if it only had the political will. Unfortunately, it seems the Prime Minister is too out of touch to realise the very real consequences currently facing many across the country.
“An immediate rent freeze, alongside an eviction ban, would go a long way to prevent people being made homeless during this cost of living crisis.
“In the longer term, councils should be given the power to bring in rent controls in areas where the housing market is overheated.
“And I want to see much stricter controls on the type of new homes being built to include more affordable and social housing for buying and renting.”
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