London mayor Sadiq Khan has vowed to build 6,000 new ‘rent control’ homes across London if he’s elected for a third term in next month’s election.

Khan would use existing powers to cap rent at a third of the average key worker wage to ensure affordability. The exact rental rates would be set on a local basis, taking wages into account in each area, following consultations, according to i.

The 6,000 homes promised by 2030 is a minimum expected to be built over this period using the existing Affordable Homes Programme, according to City Hall sources. They did not stipulate how much it would cost overall, but that individual price tags would vary depending on the size and location of the properties, which will be built by councils and housing associations.

'To account'

Khan said he would act to “hold landlords to account on housing standards” and wants to work with a future Labour government to introduce more sweeping licensing reforms, enabling councils to back renters pursuing Rent Repayment Orders.

Launching his New Deal for Renters on Friday, he is expected to explain that his calls for the power to freeze rents has been refused by government for years. Khan will say: “I’m not willing to stand by and do nothing so I commit to delivering new rent control homes across London, with 6,000 in the first phase. These will be homes for rent which key workers and middle-income Londoners can afford.”

Last year, the London mayor was pulled up by the BBC for selectively using statistics to lend weight to his demands for rent controls in the capital.