Darren Johnson has renewed his call for rent controls and more security as official statistics published today show that the median private rent in London rose 11% in the year to March 2013.
Rents rose by a £132 on average in London and now stand at £1,250pcm. That is more than double the national median rent, which remains unchanged at £575/month.
Darren Johnson commented, “Over thirteen thousand Londoners being evicted in the first three months of 2013 is just one of the terrible impacts of rent rises happening at the same time as the welfare safety net is being cut to shreds. We cannot go on pricing low paid workers out of swathes of London, it’s hurting our economy and pricing out a generation of renters.”
The Mayor has ruled out any meaningful reform to slow rent rises, preferring voluntary measures which clearly are not working. We give our tenants some of the weakest protections in Europe; we should copy the smart rent controls and security enjoyed by tenants in countries like France and Germany where rent can’t rise faster than inflation guaranteeing fairness and predictability for tenants and landlords.