LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan for renters will “fall flat” unless he continues to push for the power to enforce city-wide rent controls, campaigners have warned.
Mr Khan has promised to build 6,000 rent-controlled homes if he is re-elected in May.
At the launch of his “new deal for renters” today, Mr Khan said: “I’ve been calling for the power to freeze rents in the capital for years, but the government has refused.
“I’m not willing to stand by and do nothing so I commit to delivering new rent control homes across London, with 6,000 in the first phase.”
The Mayor of London has no formal powers over the private rented sector, but according to City Hall sources cited by the i newspaper, the plan will be implemented using the existing Affordable Homes Programme.
Sources said the mayor will use existing powers to make funding for the houses conditional on them being rented at an affordable figure, and that the intention was to cap the rent at a third of the average key worker wage.
Mr Khan said he would also provide £4 million in funding for a London licensing hub to help councils take action to support renters, and promised to freeze any funding landlords receive from City Hall if they do not meet certain standards.
But the London Renters Union (LRU) has warned that the plans will “fall flat” if he does not continue to push for city-wide rent controls if Labour wins the next election. Currently, rent controls are not part of national Labour Party policy.
An LRU spokesperson said: “6,000 new rent-controlled properties will not bring security to the capital’s three million private renters who are living in fear that they will be forced out of their homes by an unaffordable rent increase.
“A third term offers Khan a once-in-a-generation opportunity to push a likely new Labour government and bring much-needed rent control to the capital.”
Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey backed the plans but told mayoral candidates to address issues renters face “head on.
“Rent controls, especially in London, and licensing powers must be devolved, criminal and underperforming landlords must be held to account, and new genuinely affordable and social homes must be built and kept available for people who need them.”
