Landlords’ fury after Reeves opens door to imposing rent freeze to ‘ease cost of living crisis’

Landlords reacted angrily on Tuesday after Rachel Reeves opened the door to a rent freeze to ease living costs.

Asked if he would impose a one-year ban on private landlords raising prices, the Chancellor said he would do “everything we can”.

But there was confusion after Downing Street and a Cabinet minister claimed there were ‘no plans’ to implement the policy.

Labor has repeatedly rejected rent controls but appears to be wavering after the Greens made it a flagship of party policy.

When asked by Labor Party MP Yuan Yang whether he would ‘examine the case of fixed-term freezing of rents in the private rented sector’, the Chancellor did not deny the allegations.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Ms Reeves replied: ‘I will do everything I can and use everything we can to reduce the cost of living, including for people in the private rented sector.

‘We will do our best to help people’

the private rented sector, because we must ensure that this conflict in the Middle East does not lead to our electorates becoming poorer.’

But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘We have no plans to implement this. ‘We focus on lower energy prices as well as cutting bills and supporting tenants.’ Earlier on Tuesday, Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said freezing rents was ‘not our approach’.

He told Times Radio: ‘It’s not something we’re actively considering.

‘To be perfectly clear, this is not the approach we will be taking. But as you can imagine the Chancellor, like all of us, is concerned about the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on family finances and is looking at what more might be needed to help families get through this, but not this.’

Following a meeting with Ms Reeves in the House of Commons, Ms Yang said: ‘The Chancellor has not ruled out a fixed-term freeze on private sector rents… As Trump’s war in Iran continues to increase costs, this move will provide vital security for young families hardest hit by the cost of living.’

But landlords described it as a ‘clumsy, inconsiderate government intervention’ and said it would increase rents as in Scotland.

Melanie Leech, CEO of the British Property Federation, said: ‘We recognize the current pressures on individuals and households, but there is no surer way

For the government to remove its ambition to deliver the new homes we need and the jobs and tax revenues that come from it, instead of well-intentioned but incompetent, ill-considered government intervention.

‘If a temporary rent freeze is being considered by the Chancellor, he needs to draw lessons from the disastrous impact of the failed attempt to introduce rent controls in Scotland; ‘Rents for new leases have risen significantly since the controls were introduced, alongside a pause in new home construction.’

The National Residential Landlords Association said the move would be a ‘disaster’ and also warned it would increase prices. Chief executive Ben Beadle said: ‘A rent freeze would be a disaster for landlord and investor confidence and therefore the supply of homes in the UK.

‘There is no evidence to suggest this will make rents more affordable. In fact, the impact on supply will inevitably cause new rents to rise even further.’