Labour has promised to limit how many months of rent landlords are allowed to charge tenants upfront when they first move into a property.
There’s currently no cap on how much landlords can charge people when they’re looking to move into a new rental home.
Rent reached a record high last year while demand has outstripped supply since 2020 – meaning some landlords are able to charge tenants up to six months’ rent just to secure a property.
According to Deposit Protection Scheme data, one in eight surveyed landlords admit to asking for anything between four and six months worth of rent.
That works out to between £5,500 and £8,400, outside of security deposits, per property, according to Rightmove and HomeLet.
But housing secretary and deputy PM Angela Rayner has promised the government will put a stop to this.
She said: “Labour will put an end to renters being charged eye-watering up-front costs when they take on a new tenancy.
“Whilst the Tories completely failed to deliver on their promises to renters and bowed to vested interests on their benches, Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill will transform the rights of renters, ending rental bidding wars and ‘no fault evictions’ for good.
“Labour is getting on with our Plan for Change, increasing living standards across the country and putting more money in working people’s pockets.”
Renters’ Reform Coalition’s director, Tom Darling, said: “For too long, extortionate rent-in-advance demands have allowed landlords to discriminate against poorer renters. It’s great the government have acted on this and listened to renter groups by setting out clearly that this practice will be prohibited.”
According to the Guardian, he said: “As the legislation moves forwards, we hope they will continue to listen to calls for the bill to strengthened, such as by getting rid of the loophole that allows landlords to evict tenants using extortionate rent hikes by introducing a cap on rent increases.”
MPs are preparing to vote on this amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill today, after persistent delays over similar proposals under the Conservatives.
Labour has also promised to ban no-fault evictions, and apply Awaab’s Law – forcing landlords to take health and safety concerns seriously – as well as making sure they do not refuse to allow tenants to have a pet without reason.
However the Renters’ Reform Coalition warned the Metro earlier this week that more than 15,600 renters could end up losing their homes before the no-fault ban comes in, as the bill is not likely to pass into law until later this year.