Context
Dan Carden questions the evidential basis for the Department's stance on rent control, citing international examples and local housing investment issues.
Question
What the evidential basis is for his Department's policy on rent control. There is an injection of housing investment in some parts of my constituency, but sadly it is by landlords who are taking advantage of low house prices to turn family homes and whole terraces into houses in multiple occupation, charging sky-high rents for people to live in single bedrooms, undermining the local community.
Answer from Matthew Pennycook
I can assure my hon. Friend that I have looked at a wealth of evidence, particularly international evidence, of what the impact of first and second-generation rent controls are, as well as more subtle forms of rent control, which can have differential impacts on different groups. Such controls typically benefit settled and better-off tenants more than those looking for a home or needing to move.
Not addressed: The specific ask to look again at the evidence and start consulting was not directly addressed.
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