Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called on central government to let him freeze private rents in the English capital for the next two years to protect tenants from the effects of the pandemic-driven recession.
With the eviction ban set to end in a matter of days, Khan wrote to housing secretary Robert Jenrick asking for the powers as an emergency measure that would allow rent costs to fall but not rise and support those already in debt as a result of Covid-19.
It would go some way to avoiding an impending “tsunami of evictions”, the Mayor said, and would mirror action taken in Berlin to freeze rents until 2025.
Given the power to do so, Khan would immediately stop rent increases both between and within tenancies, meaning landlords could not charge new tenants a higher rent than the flat’s previous occupier.
It's great that @SadiqKhan is seeking powers to prevent up to half a million evictions in London. We cannot sit back and allow hundreds of thousands of people face eviction due to arrears accrued due to Covid. It's crucial we keep families in their homes. https://t.co/cQeN9suX7Z
— John Bird (@johnbirdswords) September 16, 2020
The Mayor of London said: “More than ever, Covid-19 means that many of London’s private renters are facing a really uncertain future. More likely to be in lower-paid and insecure work, the end of the furlough scheme means even more renters in the capital are now at risk of pay cuts or losing their job.