The London Renters Union Brent Branch sets out what Labour needs to offer to win the votes of renters

The UK Labour Party is currently failing to offer hope to its supporters most in need and is failing to live up to the ambition and achievements of its forefathers in the foundation of stable homes and the freedom to make big life choices.

One London Renters Union member, Debbie, filled with anxiety, says that almost all the conflicts she has with her partner have stemmed from their steep housing costs. Debbie says, “Every time we have an argument, it’s about money, mainly to do with our very high rent, which goes up and up and up and is unstoppable.”

A few numbers:

• 40% of UK households rent. There are approximately 1.3 million households with children who rent.

• 21% – over 5 million – rent their accommodation privately, up from 16.7% (3.9 million) in 2011.

• In London there are around 1.1 million private renters.

One huge statistic ignored by all, it seems, is this:

• Most private renters live in a property where there is no mortgage.

In other words, the landlord has no significant costs, yet we discover time and time again agents and/or owners increase rents by 10%, 15% or more, and cite, dishonestly, “increasing interest rates”. There seems to be little, or no, connection between the costs of renting out a property and renting.

Stable housing and affordable rents are vital for a city’s future. It is well documented that frequent and forced moves year after year have a negative impact on childhood social development. Strong protections for renters are good for families with children and improve the overall health and education outcome of neighbourhoods and cities overall. And without security of tenure, renters are less likely to build local relationships and engage in the civic life of a community.

One example of the national Labour Party’s reticence is their silence on the London Mayor’s plea for rent control powers. More than 1.2m Londoners re-elected Sadiq on a manifesto that expressly called for the introduction of rent control powers. It is about time that Labour shadow ministers recognise his mandate for change and promise to give him the tools to do this vitally important work. 

Rent controls would help stem inflation rises and release significant amounts of money into local economies – more cash in the pockets of the many! And they can work. In this country we had rent controls/Fair Rents – until the Tories under Thatcher demolished them with the 1988 Housing Act.

Labour should commit to:

▪︎ re-introduce Fair Rents/rent controls. A relief scheme could be implemented for any property owners with mortgages to help them cope. As we know, however, most tenants live in a property which has no mortgage on it!

▪︎ build at least 250,000 per year new affordable and/or social homes over 2024- 2029.

The most significant achievement of the first Labour government in the 1920s was the Wheatley Housing Act, which began a building programme of 500,000 municipal houses for rental to low paid workers. By 1933, over half a million council homes had been built in the UK.  It was a small but greatly influential legacy from the first Labour administration. Legislation on tenant protection was also passed.

Research done by Brent London Renters Union, suggests most renters have little or no confidence that anything will change significantly from 2024 onwards.

According to recent polling conducted by Ipsos, 72% of the public support rent controls. The approach to the housing crisis is one that will decide a lot of votes – with many voters, who are renters, staying away if they have no confidence.

So, come on Labour! We’re sure you’re not happy with us staying away from the polling stations – tell us you want our votes!

Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/16801915@N06/35222420162. Creator: Reading Tom. Licence: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)