Housing is not a luxury – it is a necessity and so should be accessible for everyone.

Since rent deregulation in 1989, the Private Rental Market has grown rapidly and alongside it, the increased proportion of household income spent on rent. Compared to the late 1970s, when average rents formed around 11 percent of a household’s income, by 2023-24 this had risen to 34 percent.

This crisis is especially pronounced in London, where private renters are spending on average 46 percent of their incomes on rent.

As the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have stated, this matters for a number of reasons. High expenditure on housing costs relative to incomes drives high material deprivation, poverty rates and perceived economic insecurity.

We have the power to implement changes to this system.

There have been various rent controls used in the UK in the past and they remain common in many other European countries. I fully believe they are a viable option in bringing  down rents as a proportion of income.

Therefore, I call on the Government to urgently look into controlling rent levels, including rent freezes.