London borough declares 'private renting crisis' and calls for rent controls

Islington Council has declared the borough is in a state of "private renting crisis" and called on the Government to give local authorities powers to introduce rent controls.

A majority of councillors voted on September 24 to lobby both the Mayor of London and the Housing Secretary for powers to impose long-term rent controls, alongside an emergency rent freeze in the borough.

The move comes amid soaring rents in the borough, with council leaders warning that increasing numbers of residents are struggling to afford housing.

The council's housing chief, Labour councillor Jason Jackson, said unaffordable rents were driving people to seek homelessness support and temporary accommodation.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the average private rent in Islington reached £2,868 in August 2026, up 6.2 per cent on the previous year.

Labour councillor Michael O'Sullivan told the meeting: "Ordinary people cannot live in Islington unless they live in conditions that are slum-like and very, very overcrowded."

He also warned landlords could seek to evade the recent abolition of Section 21 'no-fault' evictions by significantly raising rents to force tenants to leave.

"Rent caps are the solution to this. We had this before, and it's about time to reintroduce it," he said.

Private renters spend a greater share of their income on housing than any other tenure type, according to the 2023-24 English Housing Survey, which found renters spend an average of 34 per cent of their income on housing costs.

Resident Bill Mitton said it was a ‘battle’ to get his building owner to act

Facundo Arrizabalaga / LDRS

The debate comes against a backdrop of ongoing concerns about conditions in parts of Islington's private rented sector. In recent years the council has taken action against landlords for offences including overcrowding, poor housing conditions and operating unlicensed properties.

One high-profile case in 2020 saw two landlords fined a combined £110,500 after officers found 35 people living across three two-bedroom flats.

Not everyone is convinced rent controls alone will solve the problem.

Private tenant Bill Mitton, whose dispute with a landlord over severe disrepair was previously reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, said the housing crisis required a broader response.

"I'd like to see the whole problem addressed: rent levels, the supply of housing and social housing, empty properties, standards in rented accommodation, and the genuine costs faced by landlords, rather than treating rent controls alone as the complete answer," he said.

Islington is not the first council to make the case for rent controls. Hackney, Brighton and Hove, Oxford and Worcester have all passed motions calling for similar powers.

Successive governments, however, have resisted introducing rent caps.

In July, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner ruled out rent controls, arguing that the Renters Rights Act had already strengthened protections for tenants. The legislation, which came into force in May, abolished no-fault evictions and fixed-term tenancies, limited rent increases to once a year and restricted the amount of rent landlords can demand upfront.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has previously called for rent control powers to be devolved to City Hall, but the Government has said it has no plans to do so.

The effectiveness of rent controls remains highly contested.

Supporters argue limits on rent increases would improve affordability and provide greater security for tenants. The think tank Autonomy has suggested that freezing rents and limiting future increases could save tenants billions of pounds over several years.

Critics, however, argue the policy can reduce the supply of rental homes by encouraging landlords to leave the market. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said in August that international evidence suggested rent controls can be costly and inefficient, with landlords often seeking alternative ways to recover lost income.

For now, Islington's motion has no direct legal effect, but adds to growing pressure on ministers to reconsider whether councils and London's mayor should be given powers to regulate rents.