Devolved rent control powers for mayors proposed by Greens
Leader of the Green Party Zack Polanski has proposed giving devolved rent control powers to mayors, citing tenants’ pressure from rising rents. Polanski made the suggestion on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
The proposal for devolved rent control powers is part of the party’s policies to tackle the ongoing cost of living and the pressures it puts on the most vulnerable people. “The problem we need to fix is spiralling rents,” Polanski said, citing more than a dozen European countries that have already implemented rent control policies.
“I think that mayors should be given the powers for rent controls,” he said, arguing that it would allow regions in the UK to directly respond and tailor their policies to local market conditions.
He recognised a need to look into any existing evidence before bringing such a system to the UK. The UK should study both successful systems and those where rent controls did not achieve the desired outcome, he said.
“Right now people are really struggling. People who run small businesses, people who are unemployed. Even people who run big businesses are really feeling the pinch,” Polanski said. “But one of the groups that is feeling it the most is renters. They’re stuck… in an overinflated market where landlords can often charge what they want.”
Polanski also said that he would not oppose rent control measures at either the national or local level, emphasising that an increase in housing supply should be a priority along with any intervention into the rental market.
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