Rent controls would ‘act against the interests of t...

Private rental prices paid by tenants continued to slow last month suggesting that rent controls may leave tenants worse off.

Rent paid by tenants to private landlords in Britain rose by 1.1% in the year to January 2018, down from 1.2% a month earlier, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

In England, private rental prices grew by 1.1%, Wales saw growth of 1.4% while Scotland saw rental prices increase by 0.3% in the 12 months to January.

Private rental prices in London increased by just 0.2% in the 12 months to January, which is 0.9% below the average for Great Britain.

Over the same period, inflation, as measured by CPI (Consumer Price Index) was 2.7% and was 4% as measured by RPI (Retail Prices Index).

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) argues that the figures show that calls by many in the Labour Party and elsewhere for rents to be linked to inflation would leave many tenants worse off.

RLA policy director, David Smith, said: “The figures show that rent controls are unnecessary and would act against the interests of tenants by making them worse off.

“Rent rises would be even lower if it was not for the punitive tax increases which the Government has imposed on the sector and which will begin to bite far more over the coming years.”

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