Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has told BBC Breakfast that rent freezes and rent controls are "not a way forward at the moment," pushing back against calls from within her own party and from devolved leaders for intervention in the private rented sector. BBC News

Rayner, speaking in interviews with BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday, said rent controls implemented in some areas of the UK over the past few years had not necessarily brought rents down. The remarks place her at odds with several prominent figures who have pressed the case for caps or freezes, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has long called on the government to implement a rent cap, and Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who has called for rent controls on all rented property in England.

In 2023, Andy Burnham, as mayor of Greater Manchester, called for freezes to private sector rents until the cost of living crisis was over. Burnham, now seeking to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister, has promised the biggest programme of council house building in decades. He has also long talked about implementing reforms to property taxes including stamp duty and council tax, without specifying exact changes.

Rayner's position also marks a shift from her own past rhetoric. In May, she posted on her official Facebook page that Labour would "take urgent action to protect private renters through rent controls, open-ended tenancies, and new, binding minimum standards." Facebook

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has repeatedly taken a dim view of rent controls. Rayner's comments align with that departmental stance, though her previous public statements had left room for supporters of intervention to believe the door remained open.

The most concrete domestic experiment in rent controls within the UK took place in Scotland, where temporary rent controls were introduced in October 2022 and expired last year. The Scottish experience, housing policy being devolved to Holyrood, is now being cited by Rayner as evidence that such measures do not deliver the outcomes their proponents promise.

Rayner also addressed the government's headline housing supply commitment. She told the Today programme that the target of building 1.5 million new homes by 2029 had become more challenging due to increased construction costs. She was explicit that the target would not be dropped. Rayner said she would keep the 1.5 million homes target and not be defeated.

The Renters' Rights Bill, which the government describes as the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector for over 30 years, returned to Parliament in January. Gov.uk The Bill, steered by Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, delivers stronger protections and rights to 11 million private renters across the country. It will abolish Section 21 "no fault" evictions, end rental bidding wars, and cap advance rent payments at one month's rent. Under the Bill, landlords can request one month's rent in advance alongside a security deposit of up to 5 or 6 weeks' rent. It also safeguards bereaved guarantors from being liable for rent for the remainder of a tenancy when a loved one has died.

There is currently no legal limit on how much rent a landlord can request upfront in England. Some renters are being asked to pay up to a year's worth of rent upfront before agreeing a tenancy, a practice the Bill's cap on advance payments is designed to address.

The broader context here is one of a government attempting to draw a clear line between tenant protections it considers workable and those it does not. The Renters' Rights Bill is substantive legislation: the abolition of Section 21 evictions alone has been a flagship pledge across multiple Labour conferences and represents the most consequential reform to private tenancy law in a generation. But the rejection of rent controls narrows the gap between what Rayner is now willing to commit to and what she previously said Labour would deliver. The Facebook post from May is unambiguous in its language on rent controls, and the shift, whether driven by departmental advice, the Treasury's fiscal position, or the Scottish precedent, leaves advocates of intervention with diminished leverage within the parliamentary party.

Burnham's leadership bid adds a political dimension. His call for council house building on a scale not seen in decades, combined with his advocacy for rent freezes and property tax reform, positions him to the left of the current Housing Secretary on these questions. Whether that translates into pressure at the dispatch box or remains a campaign-platform distinction will depend on the composition of the parliamentary party and the appetite of backbenchers to challenge a sitting Deputy Prime Minister on housing policy.

For devolved administrations, the implications are different. Rent policy is devolved in Scotland and Wales; in England, it rests with Westminster. Rayner's comments apply to England. The Scottish experiment with temporary controls has now expired, and the minister's citing of it as a cautionary example may complicate any future attempt by Holyrood or the Senedd to revive similar measures, though neither is under any obligation to follow Westminster's lead.