A TEMPORARY rent freeze could lead to sharp price hikes after the period ends or for new tenants, housing campaigners warned today.

The Treasury is considering making private landlords in England commit to a one-year rent freeze to protect households from rising living costs as a result of the Iran war. 

But the London Renters Union (LRU) warned enforcement and long-term rent controls were needed to prevent landlords raising rents sharply for new tenants, or after a freeze comes to an end.

The campaign group called for rent controls that are linked to the size and quality of accommodation, rather than a pure freeze or market-based cap.

Rent rises will be limited to once a year and only be made up to “the market rate” when the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force on Friday. It will also ban no-fault evictions and landlords from accepting an offer over asking price.

LRU spokesman Jae Vail said: “Renters urgently need an end to the rent hikes that are pushing us into poverty and out of our homes. 

“If properly introduced, a rent freeze would give wages a chance to catch up but it must protect new tenants and be followed by long-term rent controls to make our homes steadily more affordable.

“Ordinary people are at breaking point, having endured year after year of inflation-busting rent increases and we cannot take another round of massive price hikes. The government can act now to protect all renters for the long-run.”

The proposed rent freeze would save renters an average of £27 per month by preventing an expected average rise of 1.9 per cent next year, according to Generation Rent.

Ben Twomey, the campaign group’s chief executive, said: “It’s encouraging that the government is considering a rent freeze and we urge them to press ahead and bring it in as quickly as possible to give renters the breathing space we need.”

Earlier this month, thousands of people marched through London in the biggest demonstration for affordable housing in more than a decade.

More than a third of private renters live in poverty and spend more than 36 per cent of their income on rent on average, government figures show. Asking rents have risen around 40 per cent since 2020, Rightmove data shows.