Zoe Garbett, the Green Party’s candidate for Mayor of London, has announced her “Renters Charter”, a plan to tackle the capital’s out of control private rental market.
Soaring: rents in London rose by 7% last year, making a bad situation even worse for everyone except landlords
Garbett’s Charter prioritises action to tackle the private sector’s rocketing rents.
Garbett has pledged to fight for more rights for tenants, better enforcement on rogue landlords and for the Mayor of London to be given the power to bring in rent controls.
Last year saw the highest increase in rents in London since records began, according to the Office for National Statistics. London saw private rental prices soar at an above-inflation 6.9% on average in 2023, the highest annual hike since the ONS began collecting data on London rents in 2006.
London’s Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has repeatedly called for rent controls in the capital to take some of the heat out of the rental market, and has been repeatedly refused by the Conservative Government.
The key demands in Garbett’s Renters’ Charter are:
- A Rent Commission for London to set a target level for rents across the city – and work to bring rents down
- Pushing the Government to give London rent control powers and introduce an immediate two-year freeze on rents
- Working with local authorities to get more environmental health officers to support tenants and enforcing high standards.
“The private rented sector across London is out of control,” Garbett said.
Charter plan: Green Party Mayoral candidate Zoe Garbett
“For many, housing is completely unaffordable. This includes teachers, nurses, hospitality workers, and many of the people who keep the city going.
“The situation here really is that bad. We need to be bold with this. We have to be talking about rent control. At the moment, tenants find themselves in bidding wars over expensive homes that, in many cases, aren’t even fit to live in.
“I rent in London; I know first-hand how the system just isn’t working for millions across the city.
“Setting up a rent commission would be one of the first things I would do to get started on the job of securing a fair deal for renters.”
The London elections are to be held on May 2.
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