Housing groups have set up a new London Rent Commission in a bid to pave the way for rent controls in the capital.

Green members of the London Assembly organised the get-together to inspire Mayor Sadiq Khan to follow through on his promise and create a formal rent commission.

He has been pushing to set up such a commission since 2019 which he previously said would be tasked with “designing and implementing the best system of rent control for London and would be an arm’s length body”.

Generation Rent and Acorn took part in the meeting where members discussed the enormous human cost of soaring rents, Acorn organiser Paul Williams tells LandlordZONE.

“We also looked at the wider economic impact, including the crippling cost to local councils brought about through increased homelessness and huge temporary accommodation costs,” says Williams.

“The evidence for implementing rent controls is overwhelming, and we hope taking part in this commission will give the mayor the evidence needed to lobby the government for powers to implement rent controls locally and to get a grip on this growing crisis.”

Commission works

In 2021, Khan explained how a commission would be made up of experts including tenants and landlords, to identify landlords and what rents they charged. “It means the government giving us the powers to do that, and I think that is the way for the next few years to resolve the issue of the crisis in the private rental market,” he said.

However, after the general election, the government ruled out giving Khan the power to impose rent controls across private tenancies in London when a spokesman said ministers had “no plans whatsoever to devolve rent control powers”.