Thinktank calls for ‘double lock’ England private rent cap to ease living costs

Influential IPPR proposes capping rents at whichever is lower of consumer price inflation or wage growth

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One of the thinktanks closest to the Labour government is urging ministers to introduce private sector rent controls in England, as the chancellor weighs up how to ease a surge in living costs caused by the Iran war.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has published a paper calling for a rent “double lock”, which would link rent increases to either wages or inflation, depending on which was lower.