Forty percent of Londoners think they will struggle t pay their rent over the next six months, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has revealed.
On the back of this shocking statistic, Khan has called an emergency summit on issues facing renters in the capital and joined in a call to action for the government to act now on the subject.
The summit will consist of private renters, charities, advocacy groups and politicians coming together to tackle the capital’s rental crisis.
In a statement, the Mayor’s office said Khan and sector leaders will call for the government to implement renters reform legislation to give renters security and safety.
The Mayor’s Office added that London’s renters are facing multiple pressures from all ends from the cost of living crisis to higher rents and unsafe homes.
The action Khan has called for further includes a two-year rent freeze similar to the one Scotland has recently introduced.
Khan said: “It’s vital that we stand up for renters in our city and support them through the cost of living crisis.”
The Mayor’s Office added the average advertised London rent has hit £2,343 a month, which for perspective is £454 less than the rent payments of a five-bedroom villa in Cyprus.
Director of Generation Rent, Alicia Kennedy said: “When rents are rising on new tenancies, no private renter is safe.
“People who don’t want to move are being priced out of their homes and forced to compete in this hellish market.”
Responding to the plans for the summit, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said that landlords have not been invited to provide their view on the future of the housing market.
Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of NRLA said boosting the number of homes available would “merely be tinkering with the symptoms of the challenges in the rental market, without tackling the root cause of them.”
In response, a spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor makes no apology for prioritising renters facing homelessness over landlords’ profits.
“This emergency summit was an opportunity for London’s renters and representative organisations to have their say on the capital’s rental crisis which is directly affecting them.
“The Mayor makes no apology for focusing on renters’ experiences and ideas for change when so many potentially face homelessness this winter.
“The Mayor’s team will continue to engage with private landlords on issues of shared concern about the functioning of the rental market.”
