No 10 dismisses Reeves’s reported plan for freeze on private rents

Downing Street has dismissed a freeze on private sector rents even as Rachel Reeves left the door open to the idea, after the Guardian revealed the chancellor has been considering it as an option to cut the cost of living. A No 10 spokesperson said on Tuesday freezing private sector rents was “not the approach we will be taking” after sources told the Guardian it was Reeves’s preferred solution for dealing with a spike in housing costs in the wake of the Iran war. They added: “We have no plans to implement this. Our focus remains on cutting bills and backing renters alongside lower energy prices.” Reeves, however, failed to rule out the idea when asked about it in the Commons, telling the Labour MP Yuan Yang: “I will do everything in my power and use every lever we have to bear down on the cost of living, including for people in the private rented sector.” The chancellor was understood to have been considering imposing a one-year rent freeze on private sector landlords as part of a package of measures later this year to help households deal with the fallout from the conflict in the Middle East. The freeze would exclude newly built properties however in an attempt to encourage housebuilding. The measure would mark a significant reversal for Reeves, who resisted a proposal to include rent controls as part of Labour’s renters’ rights reforms, which come into force on Friday. …