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Rents: Regulation

Asked by Sir James CleverlyConservativeMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled Answered 20 October 2025UIN 78220

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has undertaken research on the potential impact of rent controls on the housing market.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook

My Department regularly reviews external research and evidence related to various aspects of the private rented sector.

The government has been clear it does not support the introduction of rent controls, including rent stabilisation measures.

We believe they could make life more difficult for private renters, both in terms of incentivising landlords to increase rents routinely up to a cap where they might otherwise not have done, and in pushing many landlords out of the market, thereby making it even harder for renters to find a home they can afford.

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