We need rent control now!

Jeremy Corbyn’s speech to Conference yesterday elicited a sharp reaction from capitalists when he branded capitalism as “broken”. “The same dogmatic mantra”, summed up Corbyn, only served to “deregulate, privatise, cut taxes for the wealthy, weaken rights at work, delivering profits for a few, and debt for the many”.

Responding speedily Ms May declared, “A free market economy, operating under the right rules and regulations, is the greatest agent of collective human progress ever created. It is unquestionably the best, and indeed the only sustainable, means of increasing the living standards of everyone in a country.”

Except Ms May, neoliberalist capitalism has forced masses of deregulation. Deregulation that is driving down the living standards of millions in our countries. Zero hour contracts, false self-employment and the lifting of rent controls to name a few.

Indeed, last year the Conservatives voted down a proposal that required private landlords to make their rented housing “fit for human habitation” by a vote of 312 to 219. But then 72 MPs on the Tory benches are private landlords, so why would they make vote to make their rented properties fit for human dwelling?

Yet, the Residential Landlords Association still bleated “Rent controls are an attack on landlords”. Yes, Mr hard-done-by Landlord, just as penicillin was an attack on syphilis.

The housing crisis in the UK, particularly in London, the South East and some of our bigger cities is out of control. In London house prices are being overinflated by non-domiciled people buying up properties, which are often unlived in, left empty. Cheap mortgages are encouraging buy-to-let landlords to hoover up properties.

These factors put a block on first-time-buyers getting onto the property ladder. Thus, we have a group of citizens who would ordinarily be predisposed to home ownership forced onto the private rented market, a market highly populated by buy-to-let landlords, the very group who are outpricing first-time-buyers. This is exactly how the unregulated free market economy impoverishes ordinary people.

Allowing private landlords the freedom to set rents at whatever level that they’re able to squeeze from renters cannot continue. Allowing private landlords to throw people out of their properties in order to jack up their rents must stop. Precarious tenure should be legislated against, and security of tenancy made a human right.

From 1915 to 1980 rent controls were in operation in the UK. Rent controls are employed in Canada, Germany and some American states, including New York City. The UK is in dire need to return to a fair and just rent control system.