Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Team from a report by Property Industry Eye. Read the original article for full details.
Greens Propose 2% Rent Cap as Propertymark Warns of Landlord Exodus
The Green Party has unveiled plans to cap private rent rises at 2% or less, announced by party leader Zack Polanski at the Greens' conference in Brighton. Propertymark has warned the proposals could drive landlords out of the market and further reduce the supply of rental homes.
What the Greens are proposing
The party wants a three-year emergency cap on private rent increases. Under the proposals, annual rises would be limited to inflation, wage growth or 2% — whichever is lowest.
Polanski said the party wanted to end sudden rent increases and pledged to stop landlords using higher rents to force tenants out of their homes. The Greens would also introduce a national fair rents guarantee, which Polanski claimed would keep rents affordable in the long term.
The proposals would restrict landlords' ability to increase rents, even where their own costs are rising.
Polanski criticised Labour's approach to rental reform, arguing its existing measures do not go far enough, and accused ministers of dismissing rent controls. He suggested the government would not introduce stronger protections unless it came under pressure to do so. The Green leader also called for an end to the leasehold system and a substantial increase in council housebuilding.
Propertymark's warning
Propertymark has challenged the proposals, warning that rent controls could discourage investment and further reduce the supply of rental homes.
Timothy Douglas, Propertymark's head of policy and campaigns, said: "Tenants are facing genuine affordability pressures but rent caps do not address the underlying shortage of homes or the rising costs of providing and maintaining them."
"If policymakers want to make renting more affordable in the long term, the priority must be increasing housing supply and creating the conditions for responsible investment in the private rented sector."
Douglas added that Propertymark has consistently warned against rent controls because they can have unintended consequences. In Scotland, he said, members have reported rent increases between tenancies, stalled investment and landlords leaving the market following temporary rent caps. He also cited international evidence suggesting rent-control schemes can reduce investment and the supply of rental homes.
"Any policy to support tenants must therefore consider both the immediate impact on renters and the longer-term need to maintain and increase the supply of homes in an already constrained market," he said.
What remains unclear
The Greens have yet to explain how their national fair rents guarantee would operate or how the proposed cap would be enforced — details letting agents and inventory clerks in the private rented sector will want to see.
Source: Property Industry Eye