Rent controls in the UK are reportedly off the table - and I think that's the right call
The expert's view from our Director of Operations, Nikki Lewis. Keep up with our latest landlord tips by following him over at The Cardiff Letting Agent.
When Andy Burnham emerged as the new Prime Minister, there was plenty of speculation about what his government might do to tackle the cost of living. Among the ideas being discussed were rent controls, with reports suggesting they were under consideration as part of a wider package of measures aimed at making life more affordable. However, more recent reports suggest those plans have now been shelved, and personally, I think that's the right decision.
I know what some people will be thinking already: "Well, of course you'd say that - you're a letting agent."
It's a fair point, and I completely understand why rent controls sound appealing. If rents have risen quickly over the last few years, surely stopping them from increasing further would make renting more affordable. On the surface, it feels like a simple solution to a difficult problem.
The problem isn't rent – it's the shortage of homes
The trouble is, housing markets are rarely that simple. Rent controls have been introduced in various forms in countries including Sweden and Germany, and much closer to home in Scotland. While they can provide short-term certainty for tenants already living in a property, there's growing evidence that they can also reduce the supply of homes available to rent, making it even harder for people trying to find somewhere to live.The biggest challenge we have isn't simply the price of renting. It's that we don't have enough homes.
Putting a cap on rents doesn't build a single extra property. It doesn't encourage more landlords to enter the market or persuade developers to build more rental homes. If anything, it can have the opposite effect. Faced with restrictions on what they can charge, some landlords may decide to sell, move into short-term holiday lets or simply stop investing in rental property altogether. That leaves fewer homes available for an increasing number of tenants.
The result is often longer queues for every property that comes onto the market, less choice for renters and landlords becoming even more selective because demand continues to outweigh supply.
The unintended consequences
There's another consequence that doesn't always get mentioned either.
Many landlords don't increase rents every year. Some deliberately keep rents below market value because they have good, reliable tenants and value the relationship. But if rent controls are looming, there's a strong incentive to increase rents before any cap is introduced and then continue raising them by the maximum permitted amount each year. Otherwise, they risk falling permanently behind the market. Ironically, a policy designed to keep rents down could actually encourage larger increases in the short term.
Is the market already correcting itself?
What's particularly interesting is that we're already seeing signs that the rental market is beginning to stabilise without rent controls. Average rents increased by 3.3% in the year to June 2026, while average earnings grew by 4.3% over the same period. That's a very different picture from October 2024, when rents were rising by 8.7% annually. The pace of rent growth has slowed considerably, suggesting the market is already beginning to rebalance.
What does this mean for Wales?
Of course, here in Wales there's an important point to remember. Housing policy is devolved, so the Prime Minister couldn't introduce rent controls here anyway. That decision would rest with the Welsh Government.
That doesn't mean the conversation is over. Improving housing affordability remains high on the political agenda, and with both the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru talking about making renting fairer and strengthening tenants' rights, rent controls could still become part of the debate in Wales in the future.
My view
For me, though, the answer has always been the same. The long-term solution isn't controlling the price of too few homes. It's increasing the number of homes available to rent and creating an environment where good landlords want to stay in the market. More supply gives tenants more choice, encourages competition and, ultimately, does far more to improve affordability than simply capping prices ever could.
Housing has always been a supply-and-demand issue. Until we address the supply side properly, we're treating the symptom rather than the cause.
The information contained within this article was correct at the date of publishing and is not guaranteed to remain correct in the present day.
