More than 30 MPs have supported the proposed amendment in the Renters’ Rights Bill to cap the rents that landlords can charge.
The amendment in question, tabled by Labour MP Paula Barker, would introduce tenancy rent caps so landlords cannot raise rents above the Consumer Price Index level of inflation of wage growth, whichever is lower.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that average private rents in England have gone up by 9.3% in the 12 months to November 2024.
Other amendments that Generation Rent supports include extending Rent Repayment Orders, protecting tenants from rent hikes if landlords receive means-tested grants to improve energy efficiency, extending the Decent Homes Standard to apply to homeless temporary accommodation, restricting the circumstances under which a landlord can request a guarantor, creating a body to report on the impact of the act on rents and introducing specific requirements for landlord and dwelling entries on the private rented sector database.
Last week, the Renters’ Rights Bill reached the report stage, and a 40-page document was released listing several amendments.
This included an amendment that landlords charge one month’s rent in advance to prevent student leases being signed before March in the year before they are intended to start, a review of tenancy deposit schemes and requirements within a year of the Renters’ Rights Bill becoming law, and the establishment of a report on the affordability of rent and proposals for making rents more affordable.
The realities of retrofitting
Sponsored by Skipton Building Society for Intermediaries
The bill is due to have its third reading in the House of Commons tomorrow, during which these amendments will be examined and discussed.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “Everyone needs a safe, secure and affordable home, but for private renters, it can be snatched away only too easily. The Renters’ Rights Bill, which will abolish ‘no-fault’ Section 21 evictions, is therefore positive for renters across England. Meanwhile, putting a stop to landlords demanding more than a month’s rent in advance will help many renters avoid falling into debt and poverty.
“But renters across the UK are facing soaring rents [that] are far outstripping our earnings. Despite this, there are very few measures in the bill to give us the breathing space we need from the cost of renting. We hope the government at least brings forward the amendment to introduce rent caps within tenancies to limit how much landlords can hike the rent on their tenants. Without this measure, many landlords will use rent hikes as a Section 21 eviction in all but name.
“In the long term, the government must act to stop runaway rents and unfreeze the Local Housing Allowance rate to protect families on low incomes from poverty and homelessness.”
