New Tory housing secretary: Renters’ Rights Act drives up rents

8:04 AM, 4th September 2026, 13 hours ago

The Conservatives’ new Shadow Housing Secretary has claimed the Renters’ Rights Act has driven rents up and led landlords to sell their properties.

Writing in Conservative Home, Katie Lam has warned the government’s red tape has resulted in fewer homes being built.

Ms Lam was appointed Shadow Housing Secretary in a recent Conservative reshuffle, replacing James Cleverly, who is now seeking to become Mayor of London.

Landlords busily offloading their properties

Ms Lam writes in Conservative Home: “Thanks to this government’s Renters’ Rights Act, rents are rising, and landlords are busily offloading their properties, meaning fewer options for those looking for somewhere to live.

“For people wanting to rent, to buy a new home, to make changes to their existing home, to build houses in the places that people want them, or to rent out property that they already own, the answer from this government has consistently been more regulations, more rules, and more restrictions.”

She added: “At the same time, Labour have totally failed to tackle the problems in our planning system, and their tax hikes and red tape are just resulting in fewer new houses being built.

“That’s particularly true in Sadiq Khan’s London, where housing starts fell to their lowest ever level in 2024-25; construction began on just 4,170 new homes across the entire capital.”

Annual property tax

As previously reported by Property118, landlords could face an annual property tax under proposals to replace council tax and stamp duty with a charge paid by property owners.

The model previously backed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham would see properties subject to an annual charge of 0.48% of their value.

A new proposal from one think tank would go further, suggesting a rate of 0.96% for second homes, empty properties and homes owned by non-residents.

However, the published plans do not suggest that every privately rented property would automatically be subject to the higher rate.