Should London introduce rent controls? With housing campaigner Joe Beswick

0:01My perfect day as sand, salt, water, and friends. But my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis can take me out of the moment. Now I'm all in with clearer skin thanks to SkyRizzy. Rizzen Kizum at RZA, a prescription-only 150mg injection for adults who are candidates for systemic or phototherapy. With SkyRizzy, most people saw 90 % clearer skin and many were even 100 % plaque-free at 4 months. SkyRizzy is just 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses. Don't use if allergic to SkyRizzy. Serious allergic reactions, increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis.

0:38Tell your doctor about any flu-like symptoms or vaccines. Thanks to SkyRizzy, there's nothing on my skin. And that means everything. Nothing is everything. Ask your doctor about SkyRizzy, the number one dermatologist prescribed biologic in psoriasis. Visit SkyRizzy.com or call 1-866-SKYRizzy to learn more. Have you ever been stuck on a weight loss plateau, trying everything and anything you can to lose that extra weight and reach peak health? We've all been there, but Noom's unlocked the secret to reaching the mountaintop. Go in micro. The Noom GLP-1 microdose program starts at$99 and is delivered to your door in seven days.

1:18Start your microdose GLP-1 journey today at Noom.com. That's N-O-O-M dot com. Noom. Microchanges. Big results. Noom GLP-1-RX program involves healthy diet, exercise, and support. Individual results may vary. Meds and personalization based on clinical need. Not reviewed by FDA for safety, efficacy, or quality. No affiliation with Novo Nordisk, Inc., the only U.S. source of FDA-approved semaglutide. Not available in all 50 U.S. states.

2:00A group of Londoners are coming together this Saturday to call on the government to introduce rent controls for the private market. But with the Renters' Rights Act about to come into force, would freezing rent significantly reduce the housing supply? Hi, and welcome back to The Standard Podcast. I'm Tamara Komornik. For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk. Coming up, should London introduce rent controls?

2:43London rents have increased by 35 % since the pandemic, according to data from Rightmove. So would government-backed rent controls be the right course of action to stem spiralling rents? Or would they have the opposite effect and squeeze the rental housing supply even further? In today's episode, I speak to Jo Bestwick, a member of the London Renters Union, about Saturday's demonstration encouraging the government to introduce rent caps in the UK. Here's my chat with Jo.

3:22Hi, Jo. Thanks so much for joining me on the Standard Podcast today. It's great to have you. Hi, Tamara. So, Jo, you are supporting this Saturday's demonstration calling for rent controls to be brought into London. I want to start by zooming out. You called on the government to temporarily freeze private rents back in 2020 during the thick of the pandemic. did your call receive traction and was there any backlash yeah good question uh it's funny to think back to those times so i mean in the pandemic lots of our members income was uh bottoming out people were really struggling at the same time landlords were jacking up rent so we called um on the government to do what they did do in some other countries where they put renters rights take renters' rights more seriously and freeze rents.

4:15But they didn't do anything. And that's, you know, when we think about that from the perspective of the demonstration this weekend, thousands of people coming out to call for rent controls, it shows really how far we've gone because rent controls were a fringe issue then. And now they're the norm. You know, we've got big parties like the Green Party and Plaid Cymru calling for rent controls. And so we can see how much closer we are to actually making rents affordable in this city. So you are going to be protesting at the demonstration in Soho on Saturday. What are some of the reasons you will be pushing for rent controls?

4:56Sorry. What are some of the reasons that you are calling on the government to put in rent controls now? now. I'm really excited for Saturday. And I was thinking about, you know, like what, what drives me to like campaign on this. And I'm like, I love this city. Like London is an amazing place, but in a real way, like it is dying a bit, you know, rents are so high. And, you know, a number of my, I'm of the age where a number of my friends recently have like started to have children. And not one of my friends in London who's had children has stayed in the city because they can't afford to like, on an ordinary income, to like have a child and support a new life in this, you know, our capital city.

5:44Nurses, bus drivers, teachers, all of these people doing absolutely essential jobs which keep our city going, can't afford to live there. Something is going dramatically wrong. So much of ordinary people's incomes is being eaten up by rent. That's going to landlords. We need to do something about it. We've got a cost of living crisis. And what is the biggest thing you can do to address the cost of living crisis for renters? Stop rents soaring upwards. So rent controls are more common in the US. When I think about rent controls, I think about New York, I think about San Francisco. What's your perspective on the Scottish rent controls?

6:28And do you propose a similar system, which involves a lot of different calculations? I mean, when I was looking, it's like an algebra equation, you know, for landlords to try and figure out, you know, what level the rent is set at. What do you make of the system? And do you think it's a good one? Yeah, I mean, at London Renters Union, we're not calling for a rent control that you need a PhD in maths to understand or something like that. There's loads of different rent controls around the world. And it's great that you mentioned other places like New York and lots of places in Europe that have rent controls.

7:10Because when we talk about rent controls over the past years, we're often seen to be on the loony fringe. You know, the media will be like, oh, rent controls are awful. And that is starting to change. You know, like 80 % of the people in this country think we should have rent controls. And it's even higher in London. There's loads of different models. One of the models that we at the London Renters Union say would make a difference is a rent freeze for a number of years. You know, rents have gone up in London by, I think, 42 percent since the pandemic. And so if we had a rent freeze in those years, think how many hundreds of pounds ordinary Londoners would have in their pockets to be spending on the things which are getting more expensive, like heating their home and eating.

7:57So there's lots of different models of rent controls. And what we want is a model of rent controls that works, makes renting more affordable and makes this city a livable place again, makes it the amazing city it can be. and it's interesting this conversation is happening now as the renters rights act is about to come into force um in the uk and joe what would you say to the argument that the renters rights bill will make it harder for tenants to find properties to rent especially if they don't have um a traditionally desirable profile i.e you know if they are freelance or in the creative industry or in a volatile sector.

8:42Government-enforced housing regulation restriction around renting, it can cause a shortage in terms of rental stock, and that shortage can then push up prices. So what gives you the confidence that something like rent control will actually bring down rents or freeze rents to a level where they are affordable in the long term? I mean, the status quo is not working for so many people. It's eating, you know, half of their income. Lots of our members are paying 60, 70 percent of their income on rent. It fundamentally isn't broken and rent controls are a tried and tested method. And that's why we're seeing them in other places around the world that have not even as bad as London levels of affordability crisis.

9:36But what we're not saying is that rent controls are a silver bullet. You know, what did the government do in the 1980s and the 1990s? They sold off loads of social housing and they said, hey, you want to have a pension? You've got a bit of money in your bank account. Why don't you become a landlord? So it was really encouraged by the government. And we've got to where we are, where there's, you know, a decent amount of population who have quite a lot of money and they put that money into property and they need that for their pension and they jack up rents because why wouldn't you? For them, it's an asset, but for us, it's our home.

10:09Rent controls work. That's why landlords, developers argue against them. We need to try rent controls. We've gone long enough without trying them.

10:22We'll take a quick break here. Coming up, I asked Jo about whether the spotlight should be shone on the government and Britain's housing shortage rather than landlords, and how rent controls in London might actually work. We'll be back here in just a moment.

10:48My perfect day as sand, salt, water, and friends. But my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis can take me out of the moment. Now I'm all in with clearer skin thanks to SkyRizzy. Rizzen Kizum at RZA, a prescription-only 150 milligram injection for adults who are candidates for systemic or phototherapy. With SkyRizzy, most people saw 90 % clearer skin, and many were even 100 % plaque-free at four months. SkyRizzy is just four doses a year after two starter doses. Don't use if allergic to SkyRizzy. Serious allergic reactions, increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis.

11:24Tell your doctor about any flu-like symptoms or vaccines. Thanks to SkyRizzy, there's nothing on my skin. And that means everything.

11:35Ask your doctor about SkyRizzy, the number one dermatologist prescribed biologic in psoriasis. Visit SkyRizzy.com or call 1-866-SKYRizzy to learn more. Have you ever been stuck on a weight loss plateau, trying everything and anything you can to lose that extra weight and reach peak health? We've all been there, but Noom's unlocked the secret to reaching the mountaintop. Go in micro. The Noom GLP-1 microdose program starts at$99 and is delivered to your door in seven days. Start your microdose GLP-1 journey today at Noom.com. That's N-O-O-M dot com. Noom. Microchanges. Big results. Noom GLP-1-RX program involves healthy diet, exercise, and support.

12:18Individual results may vary. Meds and personalization based on clinical need. Not reviewed by FDA for safety, efficacy, or quality. No affiliation with Novo Nordisk, Inc., the only U.S. source of FDA-approved semaglutide. Not available in all 50 U.S. states.

12:38Do you have a great idea for a business? Or maybe you've recently started one. then why not enter the AXA Startup Angel competition where we'll help you start up with confidence. I'm Izzy Obeng, founder of Foundervine and I'm thrilled to be joining this year's AXA Startup Angel competition in partnership with The Standard. There are six chances to win including two top prizes of£25 ,000, expert mentoring, business insurance for a year, thanks to AXA and more. Entering is easy, just send us a short pitch video and answer three questions about your business idea. Search Access Startup Angel to find out more and enter before the 21st of June, 2026.

13:36Welcome back. Let's get back to my chat with Jo.

13:44What do you make of the argument buy-to-let mortgages are not actually very profitable? The price of London flats is not really increasing. So it's looking increasingly more difficult for private landlords to actually make money through rent. So that's leading landlords to potentially sell up to maybe an end user or to just not rent out their flats at all. And so do you accept that maybe in the short term, potentially even in the long term, something like a rent cap could dissuade landlords from letting? And I'm including the good ones in there and actually just make the problem worse. There has been changing in renting policy because the government is slowly but surely realising that this system is both economically a bit dangerous and also doesn't work.

14:40So there's been taxation changes and at the time, quite major taxation changes. At the time, the landlords threw their toys out of the pram and said we're all going to leave the sector and they didn't. So we're asking for another change in the sector, which is controlling rents. And we say that landlords, based on the evidence, are not all going to leave overnight. But we don't deny that some will leave. And look, what happens when a landlord leaves the sector? They sell their home. And who do they sell it to? Well, either another landlord or a first-time buyer. Would every single renter almost in this city prefer to be a first-time buyer than a renter?

15:17So we want a smaller private rented sector. We want that to be gradual and managed and we want lots more social housing to provide for working, decent, affordable homes for working class people. But the idea that we actually want the private rented sector to grow at the expense of social housing and the expense of first time buyers is just galaxy brain levels of wrong and it's pushed everywhere. so the renters rights act that's coming in do you think that doesn't go far enough and do you believe that the government really cares about renters the renters rights act is a huge win for renters we definitely don't want to be saying that the renters rights act uh is not a step forward and it's a huge win for you know there's there's a fair amount of decent stuff in it and the main thing it does is get rid of section 21 and that's the law which is totally not the norm in anywhere in the world which said that a landlord can evict you with absolutely no reason with two months notice and so if you're a renter with a family with your kid in a local school what sort of security do you have if you could be thrown out of your house with two months notice so section 21 is being abolished and that is a massive victory for renters but the thing that the bill does at the act now doesn't do is much at all on affordability we have a massive affordability crisis in this country and that is feeding the cost of living crisis which so many of us feel and the government bottled it they didn't introduce a rent control through this building so that's what we're pushing for now rent controls which bring rents down which make the city affordable for ordinary londoners londoners imagine if this just became a place where you could only afford to live if you were rich you know like what sort of city is that like that's what we're fighting for at the demo and what would you say to the argument that the renters rights act is just a distraction really from the real shortage of of housing supply in the uk yeah what would you say to the argument that all eyes should be on the government to fix this rather than private landlords?

17:40Definitely all eyes should be on the government. Many private landlords have just entered the sector because the government told them they thought it was a good idea and they weren't thinking of the future. And we're stuck with that. Whether you're a landlord or a tenant, you're in that situation now. And look, it always gets brought back to house building. But again, let's look at the data. We do need to build more houses. But if we built a lot more houses in line with the government targets. You know, the Bank of England themselves say that's not really going to dramatically bring rents down, maybe just a couple of percent when they've gone up by 42 % since the pandemic.

18:19So we need to build more houses, but the houses that we primarily need to build are social homes, and we need the government stepping in to build those homes. The only time in the modern history of this country when we haven't really had a housing crisis and have built enough homes is when the government has played a significant role in supply. The developers have a role to play, but they're happy with high house prices because that means more money for them. You know, no shade on them. That's their business model. If we're going to rely on private developers to solve our housing crisis, we're going to be waiting a really long time.

18:57The government needs to take responsibility, build a lot more social housing, which in the long run can make money for the government, and then control rents. Now, rent controls are not a silver bullet, but if you froze rents now and rents continue to rise at the pace that they have been, then ordinary Londoners could have hundreds of more pounds in their pocket. And then we will be living in a different city, a city that is easier for normal, ordinary people to live in. And as we talk about rent controls, what type of system do you think would work for London? So, as I said, there's lots of different systems and the mayor of London himself allegedly backs rent controls.

19:43A bit more quiet since we've got a Labour government and we need to see more action from Khan pushing for rent controls. But we have a mayor who backs rent controls and has a suggested policy, which is a decent starting point. At the London Renters' Union, we often talk about a rent freeze because it's a really simple policy. It's not this algebraic complex thing. But if you freeze rents for a number of years, then you stop rental inflation. You allow wages to catch up with rents and you start making an affordability difference pretty quickly. So that would be a good place to start. Freeze rents and then develop a system of rent controls which bring rents down and get houses slowly but surely out of the private rented sector, into social housing or two first-time buyers.

20:32There's lots of decent ideas and there's many places in the world that we can look. The government just needs to be brave and introduce rent controls before they start losing votes from renters to lots of other parties who will start suggesting rent controls in the coming years. And Joe, just to wrap up, do you feel optimistic about London improving its livability as a city? London is such a great city and there are so many people living so many different lives. And I think, you know what I mean when you see that that is becoming harder, like it's high rents on the high street, it's high rents in your house.

21:16And unless people start taking this seriously, that landlords earning as much money as possible is not the most important thing in the world, then we are going to start to lose our city. But at the demonstration, thousands of people from across the city are coming, and also across the country, because this problem of rent is starting to affect other places, are coming together to say enough is enough. Cities are for living in. Cities are for the people who make them run. The ideas are there. Rent controls we know work. We had them for most of the 20th century and we didn't have runaway rental inflation that we've had in these decades.

22:00The ideas are there. The energy is there. Renters are demanding it. It's time for action. Well, I imagine there will be a lot of noise about this on Saturday. But thank you so much, Joe, for chatting to me on The Standard Podcast. Amazing. Thanks so much, Tamara.

22:19And that's The Standard. For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk. If you're new here, hit follow and give us a rating. If you'd like to get in touch, email us at podcasts at standard.co.uk. We'll be back here tomorrow morning. See you then.

22:41Business is booming. But you know what really helped? Xero, the accounting platform for small businesses. I used to think unpaid bills were just part of it. Ugh. But batch payments? Wow. Automated accounts payable? Even better. All in one place? That's a big one. And I can keep track from my phone while I get the job done. No bills in sight. What a life. Do right by yourself and your business. And search XERO for your free trial. Conditions apply. My perfect day has sand, salt, water, and friends. But my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis can take me out of the moment. Now I'm all in with clearer skin thanks to SkyRizzy.

23:23Rizin Kizum at RZA, a prescription-only 150 milligram injection for adults who are candidates for systemic or phototherapy. With SkyRizzy, most people saw 90 % clearer skin and many were even 100 % plaque-free at four months. SkyRizzy is just four doses a year after two starter doses. Don't use if allergic to SkyRizzy. Serious allergic reactions, increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor about any flu-like symptoms or vaccines. Thanks to SkyRizzy, there's nothing on my skin. And that means everything.

24:01Ask your doctor about SkyRizzy, the number one dermatologist prescribed biologic in psoriasis. Visit SkyRizzy.com or call 1-866-SKYRizzy to learn more. Tired of losing power when it storms? Call Four Seasons Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing and Electric today for a free estimate on a whole home standby generator. Never be without power again. Fully installed systems starting at just$99 a month. How about your sump pump, your fridge, or your freezer, your garage doors, your heating and cooling? You can stay comfortable and safe in your home all year long. Four Seasons is the largest and most award-winning Generac dealer in Illinois and Northwest Indiana.

24:36For all the right reasons, call 866-4-SEASONS.