Rachel Reeves says Labour could introduce rent controls if it wins the next election as Shadow Chancellor says 'it should be up to local areas to decide' if they want to cap prices in the letting market

A Labour authorities could present rent controls successful areas of precocious lodging demand, the Shadow Chancellor suggested yesterday.

In an evident divided with enactment policy, Rachel Reeves said determination 'may beryllium a case' for rent caps successful immoderate parts pursuing steep rises successful bills faced by tenants.

Her comments came conscionable days aft a Labour-sponsored study called for rent controls to beryllium introduced for millions of people. 

Labour rejected the report's findings and past nighttime insisted that Ms Reeves did not enactment the instauration of rent caps.

But her involution volition substance speculation that Labour is considering the policy, contempt grounds that it could worsen the lodging shortage by forcing landlords retired of the backstage rented market.

Chris Norris, of the National Residential Landlords Association, warned this week that the argumentation 'could person a perchance devastating effect connected the availability of homes to rent – astatine a clip of extraordinarily precocious demand'.

Ms Reeves said she was not successful favour of a 'blanket approach' to rent controls, but suggested they could beryllium due successful immoderate areas.

Asked if she backed the idea, she told BBC Radio Essex: 'Where that has happened, it has not ever delivered the results that radical mightiness want. 

'I deliberation that should beryllium up to section areas to decide. 

'There whitethorn beryllium the lawsuit for that successful immoderate section areas, but arsenic a broad approach, I'm not convinced by that.'

Labour past nighttime insisted that, contempt her words, Ms Reeves was not successful favour of the argumentation successful immoderate form. 

A enactment spokesperson said: 'As Rachel Reeves said, she does not judge rent controls are the close approach.

'While Labour believes enactment needs to beryllium taken to code extortionate within-tenancy rent rises, rent controls are not nationalist Labour Party argumentation arsenic we stay mindful of the hazard they could airs to the availability of rental properties and the harmful impacts immoderate simplification successful proviso would person connected renters.'

Despite this, the thought of capping rents remains fashionable with galore Labour figures.

At the 2019 wide election, nether Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, Labour pledged to headdress rents successful enactment with ostentation and 'put atrocious landlords retired of business'.

London politician Sadiq Khan and Greater Manchester politician Andy Burnham person some called for rent freezes successful England to trim the unit connected tenants. Mr Khan, who was elected for a 3rd word earlier this month, is seeking devolved powers to headdress rents successful the capital.

He precocious pledged to physique 6,000 rent-controlled homes for cardinal workers.

But successful Scotland, tenants person suffered the highest yearly rent maturation of immoderate UK federation since Nicola Sturgeon introduced a rent headdress and eviction prohibition portion First Minister successful September 2022.