The Renters’ Rights Act won’t make homes affordable – politicians must show renters they’ll act

Keir Starmer launched Labour’s local election campaign on 30 March, pledging to ‘bear down on the cost of living and address soaring household bills’ – a promise also made by the Conservatives, Lib Dems and Greens. There seems little doubt that May’s elections are being fought on the cost of living – and renters are a key voter group.

One in five of us are renters, and for about a third of us rent swallows up over half of our income. If anything is piling on the financial pressure during a cost-of-living crisis, it’s our landlords. The major parties know this, and that’s why housing has become a key battleground.

In England’s local elections the Greens are targeting Labour’s urban voters, calling for more social housing and for councils to get devolved rent control powers to curb rampantly rising rents.

Meanwhile in Scotland – which already has a rent control policy in place – the SNP are pledging to give tenants right of first refusal if their landlord sells up, Labour promise to provide affordable ‘mid-market’ homes to rent, and the Scottish Greens want to expand and strengthen Scotland’s rent control schemes.

In Wales, Plaid Cymru are offering a cap on rent increases linked to inflation or wage growth while the Greens propose a rent freeze, with both committing to new renters’ rights and to end section 21 evictions in Wales.

It’s quite possible that after May 7, England will be the only country in Britain not to have a government backing some form of rent stabilisation measure.

But that isn’t because renters in England aren’t under pressure. Renters’ Reform Coalition research has found that nearly a third of our private renters “always” or “often” struggle to afford essentials like groceries due to the cost of rent. Over 70% of the public support a cap on rent increases, because it gets to the point of why it’s so hard to make ends meet.

On 1 May, a week before England’s local elections, the Renters’ Rights Act will come into force – banning no-fault evictions, scrapping fixed term tenancies, and limiting rent rises to once a year. The rights and protections in this landmark act will tackle a key part of our broken housing system, giving England’s 11 million renters meaningful security in our homes.

But the legislation won’t resolve the affordability crisis in private renting. As we look down the barrel of a war-induced cost-of-living emergency, many renters are already one rent increase away from poverty – or homelessness. The Renters’ Rights Act won’t do much to keep tenants unable to afford soaring market rents in their homes.

Read more:

• ‘Terrified of a rent increase’: How Labour’s housing benefit cuts are hitting renters
• ‘It’s outrageous’: Renters face decade-long wait for new decent homes standard
• Why renters are protesting against the housing crisis: ‘People are neglected for profit’

Every party wants to address the coming cost-of-living crisis and the uncertainty it is throwing our lives into. The best any of them can do is to start at home by protecting us from unaffordable and unfair rent hikes.

On 7 May most renters won’t be voting to show allegiance to YIMBY or NIMBY debates. As popular as arguments about housebuilding might be in Westminster, the truth is four in five members of the public just think the government should play a role in ensuring private rents are affordable.

Whatever happens in the coming elections, it will be followed by handwringing and head scratching and a great deal of commentary on what the major parties should be offering voters ahead of the next general election. I am not an expert in the tides of public opinion, but I do know that what matters most to me is my home. Making sure that housing is secure, safe, and affordable seems like a good place to start.

Clara Collingwood is director at the Renters’ Reform Coalition

The Renters’ Reform Coalition (RRC) is a campaign group which comprises 18 leading organisations supporting and representing private renters. It includes major homelessness and housing charities such as Shelter and Crisis, campaigners Generation Rent, as well as tenant union groups like ACORN. Find out more about the work of the coalition here.

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