11:04 AM, 3rd February 2025, About 2 days ago 35
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Jeremy Corbyn has called for the introduction of rent controls as part of broader reforms to address the rising costs faced by tenants in London.
The government claims its Renters’ Rights Bill, which includes measures such as banning section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and bidding wars, limiting rent increases to once a year, and allowing tenants to challenge excessive hikes, is ‘transforming rights’.
However, Mr Corbyn, now an independent MP for Islington North, told BBC London that these reforms would still enable landlords to make ‘excessive profits’ and leave tenants ‘exploited’.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) emphasised that reforms must be fair to both renters and landlords. Rent prices have surged to record levels in recent years, especially in London.
Mr Corbyn said: “I grew up with the whole idea of rent controls.
“There were rent controls in this country until Margaret Thatcher came along, there are still rent controls in New York, in San Francisco and in many countries across Europe.
“There’s nothing wrong with them, it seems to me a reasonable way of preventing excessive profits being made in the private rented sector and exploiting people who are in desperate housing need.”
He added: “Don’t people have a right to a roof over their head? Is it good? Is it right that so many people sleep rough every night? In a modern, civilised society, can’t we say there’s a guarantee of a roof over your head?”
Mr Corbyn also has issues with rising rents and told the programme: “To pay £2,000 a month for a one- or two-bedroom flat in my constituency means that if you take as a norm your payment for your housing shouldn’t be more than half your take home pay means your take home pay would need to be over £4,000 a month.
“That’s £48,000 a year take home pay, which means your gross pay needs to be somewhere around £80,000.”
In response, the NRLA’s chief executive, Ben Beadle, said: “Landlords are not against reform, but it is important that landlords have confidence in the sector and I’m not so sure that they do at the moment.
“We have no issue with section 21 being replaced as long as the alternative is viable and workable.
“We mustn’t forget that it takes landlords on average seven months to get possession of their property back at the moment the Minister, Matthew Pennycook, has already said that the court system is on its knees.
He added: “How is it going to bring the timeframes down for landlords with legitimate reasons like antisocial behaviour? Or significant rent arrears to get possession of their properties back.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Our Renters’ Rights Bill will give tenants stronger powers to challenge excessive rent hikes.
“We are also taking action to cap advance payments to one month’s rent, end unfair bidding wars and ban no fault evictions, so tenants can reap the rewards of greater security and stability in their homes.”
The Politics London show item featuring Jeremy Corbyn is here – the item starts at 19:50.
Rookie Landlord
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Sign Up21:04 PM, 3rd February 2025, About 2 days ago
Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 03/02/2025 - 14:34
I have no issue with inheritance tax on farmers.
Hand the farm over to your offspring
Put a static caravan on your land. Move in.
Job done. Nothing to pay.
Andrew57
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Sign Up22:22 PM, 3rd February 2025, About 2 days ago
What do you expect from a communist?
SirAA
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Sign Up11:33 AM, 4th February 2025, About A day ago
I sent this email to Red Mr Corbyn Yesterday with no response received from him as yet.
Dear Mr Corbyn, MP
I have just read in the print your new call for rent control in the private rental sector (PRS) in England & Wales along with the arguments you presented to buttress your call.
While prima facie, the call for housing affordability is a good one, it is however disturbing (shocking even) that your argument appears to be based on ideological dogma rather than on economic and practical realities of our society. It is disturbing that the joined-up thinking needed from experienced politicians to address the housing crisis wasn’t reflected in your argument.
Rent control as a factor cannot and must not be taken in isolation without taking into account the following critical points, which all directly and indirectly impacts on the cost of rental housing. These factors are not exhaustive by the way.
1. Finance / Mortgage costs - Most private landlords have mortgage debt on the houses they provide for tenants to live in. They therefore have mortgage costs which are dictated by Bank of England and mortgage lenders’ interest rates, for which they have little to no control over. Therefore in periods where mortgage rates are high, where do you expect landlords to find any monies needed to cover their mortgage payments if controlled rents don’t cover their costs?
2. Costs - Landlords have considerable other costs to carry to keep tenants in their homes; many of which they have only little control over. I.e. letting agents’ fee(s), insurance, repairs, energy efficiency upgrades, red council licence fees, legal, taxation etc. The costs of many of these things have sky rocketed and continues to do so How do you expect them to continue to cover these costs? If simple economic terms, costs get passed down the food chain. It’s as simple as that.
In summary, rather than focusing on the single issue of rent controls which would have the unintended consequence of significantly reduce housing supply, I would encourage you and your colleagues in parliament to come up with holistic and value added solutions such as:-
1. Building more public sector housing at fast pace to increase supply. I fully appreciate there are serious macro economic, legal and political complexities and obstacles to the delivery of meaningful number of new housing stock.
2. Repeal punitive section 24 landlord tax which has forced many good landlords to sell up, leading to lower numbers of rental housing stock and inadvertently higher rents.
3. Introduce comprehensive tax incentives and other reforms to encourage longer term investments into the private rental sector.
4. STOP the constant bashing of landlords and stop create negative chasm between landlords and tenants; majority of whom enjoy happy and mutually satisfactory relationships.
I hope this mail resonates well with you and that you will play your part in more constructive and positive ways to help the PRS in a holistic manner.
Beaver
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Sign Up15:39 PM, 4th February 2025, About 23 hours ago
Reply to the comment left by Rookie Landlord at 03/02/2025 - 21:04
You don't necessarily need to 'hand the farm over to the offspring' and live in a mobile home for it to be free of inheritance tax. £1.5-3.0 m can be passed on free of inheritance tax depending upon whether it was owned by 1 or 2 people. It's if the value is over this amount that IHT applies, and then it applies at 20%, not 40%. But you can't do that with a pension or a buy-to-let portfolio. 🙂
The issue of IHT arises with the bigger, more valuable farms and that probably requires inheritance tax planning. Whether it's a problem or not depends upon whether farms are forced to go back to grubbing out hedgerows, woods and coppices, and follow farming practices that damage soils and ecosystems in order to grow a profitable crop.
Mick Roberts
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Sign Up19:16 PM, 4th February 2025, About 19 hours ago
He makes people homeless every time he talks.
He says:
“Is it good, is it right that so many people sleep rough? Don’t people have a right to a roof over their head?”
Is it my job to house them then? At a price Corbyn chooses? Why don't Corbyn come buy all my houses, house all my tenants & I'll tell him the rent he can charge them? Sign me up please.