Greens call for ’emergency brake’ three-year rent cap

8:48 AM, 2nd October 2026, 17 hours ago

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Private rent rises must be capped at 2% or less for three years to stop ‘the scandalous cost of private rents’ under proposals made by Green Party leader Zack Polanski.

The move would see landlords being restricted to whichever is lowest out of inflation, wage growth or 2%.

The Greens’ party conference in Brighton heard that an ’emergency brake’ on rent rises is needed.

That would, the Greens claim, help in the cost-of-living crisis and adults having to move back into their parents’ homes.

Emergency rent rise limits

Mr Polanski said: “No sudden hikes, no evictions under the guise of rent rises.

“That emergency brake would give renters vital breathing space.”

He is expected to add: “Let wages begin to catch up with the rents that have outstripped them for too long.

“And give government time to develop a national fair rents guarantee – to keep rents fair and affordable for everyone, forever.”

He also said he wanted a ‘national fair rents guarantee’ to be brought in and that a rent cap would be a ‘simple common-sense measure’.

He also accused Labour of shirking from rent controls because they won’t take on big landlords.

PRS reforms, Mr Polanski told delegates, have been a ‘half measure’ that ‘don’t go far enough’.

Rent caps don’t work

Timothy Douglas, Propertymark’s head of policy and campaigns, said: “Tenants are facing genuine affordability pressures but rent caps do not address the underlying shortage of homes or the rising costs of providing and maintaining them.

“If policymakers want to make renting more affordable in the long term, the priority must be increasing housing supply and creating the conditions for responsible investment in the private rented sector.”

He added: “In Scotland, our members have reported rent increases between tenancies, stalled investment and landlords leaving the market following temporary rent caps.

“Evidence from rent-control schemes internationally also suggests they can reduce investment and the supply of rental homes.

“Any policy to support tenants must therefore consider both the immediate impact on renters and the longer-term need to maintain and increase the supply of homes in an already constrained market.”

Landlords are ‘super-earners’

The party’s co-deputy leader Rachel Millward told BBC Breakfast that most landlords were ‘super-earners’ and a rent cap wouldn’t affect them.

She said they were making more money than other sectors and ‘would be able to absorb a slight reduction in rent’.

However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has previously warned that rent controls would have ‘unintended consequences’, including demand exceeding supply in the market for homes to let.

The Greens have long campaigned for rent controls and the issue is part of its manifesto.

Needed breathing space

Generation Rent’s chief executive, Holly Williamson, said: “Homes are the foundations of our lives.

“But when we are forced to part with more and more cash, we end up sacrificing the dream of owning our own home, or saving for a holiday, just to keep a roof over our heads.”

She added: “A limit on rent increases would be a welcome commitment for the millions of private renters who desperately need breathing space.

“The government should recognise that renters cannot keep absorbing unaffordable increases year after year and rethink its opposition to limiting rent rise.”

Existing rent increase rules

The Renters’ Rights Act allows landlords to increase rent only once a year, to the property’s open market rate.

It also replaces fixed-term tenancies with rolling agreements and makes it harder for landlords to evict tenants.

Mr Polanski is expected to argue that the legislation does not go far enough in ending ‘fear and uncertainty’ for private tenants.

According to the Office for National Statistics, average monthly private rents rose by 3.7% in the 12 months to July 2026.