Rent controls called for by Sadiq Khan would leave tenants across London worse off according to a new analysis by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). 

Figures show that private rents have fallen every year in real terms throughout his time at City Hall and are now nearly 10% lower than five years ago when compared to the Retail Price Index. 

The analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that rents in the capital have fallen by 9.6% between April 2016 (the month before Sadiq Khan came to office) and February 2021. Even compared to the Consumer Price Index, including housing costs, which the Government has said it plans to start using, rents fell by 5.1% over the same period. The NRLA is warning that any move to control rent rises by linking them to inflation would leave tenants worse off. 

In his manifesto for re-election as Mayor, Sadiq Khan calls for the power to introduce rent controls in London. Ben Beadle, chief executive at the NRLA, said: “Rent controls would be a disaster for London as the last Labour Government made crystal clear. They would mean tenants actually paying higher rents than leaving them to market forces.”