A national newspaper says new Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to ditch a controversial housing policy before it’s even been implemented.
In recent days Burnham told journalists that private sector rent controls were amongst a package of proposals being considered as “quick wins” to ease the cost of living crisis.
But now the I newspaper says: “The I Paper understands that rent controls will not be part of the package, with the policy not under active consideration by officials.”
Reinstated Housing Secretary Angela Rayner and long-standing housing minister Matthew Pennycook have been high profile opponents of rent controls, saying they would inflict long-term damage on the quantity and quality of private rental sector stock.
Now a new housing minister – Florence Eshalomi, a Labour MP and housing expert – is also believed to be against them.
She was chair of the all-party Housing, Communities and Local Government select committee until her promotion into government. And although she used that position to demand more rights for tenants, she voiced concern about the long-term effects of rent controls.
The I Paper’s chief political correspondent Richard Vaughan thinks the rent control idea is now dead in the water.
He writes: “Andy Burnham looks set to abandon plans to introduce rent controls as part of his cost of living blitz following Whitehall concerns that they would have a negative impact on the private rental sector.”
The Financial Times is also reporting a backtrack by Burnham and says: “There had been speculation that Burnham might also consider some kind of rent freeze to address living costs, but that has also been rejected by the Prime Minister’s allies.”
This article is taken from Landlord Today