Comment: ‘Are we on the verge of a renters’ revolt?’

With private renting now the fastest-growing tenure in the country, politicians must listen to renters’ concerns or expect consequences
Matt Writtle

I can’t quite credit it but a glance at the headlines suggests 2023 might have started well for London renters.

Can it be possible that London rents really have started falling?

The most recent stats suggest so, with rental service provider HomeLet recording a decline this month. However, it’s a negligible dip, all of 0.2 per cent (or £4), unlikely to be much help with monthly rents now £2,007.

Worse, it seems likely to be a momentary Christmas lull, with demand remaining high and supply tight as we head into the new year. No matter that last year rents rose four per cent, the highest rate since records began at the Office for National Statistics.

London rents have exceeded affordability calculations for years; the only time I’ve paid less than a third of my salary to a landlord I lived in a warehouse where we built extra bedrooms or forced couples to cohabitate so the rent was split more ways.

So why pay attention to renters now if they’ve been struggling for decades without revolting?

Well, there’s strength in numbers. In London, privately renting households passed the million mark for the first time in 2021, and it is now the fastest-growing tenure in England and Wales.

Does this mean we might finally see some concrete steps taken to protect tenants if failure to do so costs enough votes?

The promised Renters’ Reform Bill has been delayed but is now expected this year.

It’s baby steps and will do nothing to dampen soaring rents but it would be a start. Here’s to the tipping point.

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