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London Mayor Sadiq Khan has promised to build 6,000 “affordable” rental homes, the cost of which will be linked to the salaries of key workers.
Mr Khan, who is seeking a third term as London mayor, has pledged to build more housing by 2030 and use existing powers to cap rents based on salaries in each area.
Conservatives claimed rent control had “never worked”, but Labor officials said the policy would fund cheaper housing rather than cap existing private properties. He said it was aimed at.
The promised 6,000 homes are the minimum number expected to be built during this period using existing affordable housing programs, city officials said.
He did not say how much it would cost overall, saying individual price tags would vary depending on the size and location of the property.
Existing local powers available to mayors would be used to finance housing, subject to being let to tenants at specified rents.
The intention was to cap rents at one-third of key workers’ average wages to “ensure affordability,” officials said.
However, the exact rental price will be set on a regional basis after consultation and taking into account wages in each region.
The homes will be built by councils and housing associations, who will be responsible for identifying land for development.
Mr Khan also said he would take steps to “hold landlords accountable for housing standards”, with funding from councils frozen if high standards are not met.
And he will work with a future Labor government to introduce more fundamental licensing reforms and help ensure that parliaments can protect landlords by pushing them to pursue non-compliant landlords and give them back up to two years of rent. He expressed the idea that he would like to be able to crack down on such matters.
Although rent control is not Labour’s national policy, sources praise Mr Khan’s approach to affordable housing, saying it would be better supported by a government focused on helping local authorities build homes. He claimed to be deaf.
Mr Khan, who will launch the New Deal for renters in London on Friday, is expected to say:
“I have been asking for the power to freeze rents in the capital for years, but the government has refused.
“We are not going to sit idly by, so we are committed to delivering 6,000 new rent-controlled homes across London in the first stage.
“These will be rental homes that key workers and middle-income Londoners can afford.”
Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall responded: “If Mr. Sadiq has been doing this all along, why is he announcing it now? Rent control has never worked before, and Mr. Sadiq knows it.
“His harebrained plan will worsen the housing crisis for Londoners and shows he simply isn’t listening.
“I am listening to Londoners, which is why I will build more family-sized homes to increase supply and thereby lower rents.”
The announcement comes after the Green Party launched its own local election campaign to push for more affordable housing.
The party wants councils to increase funding to help build homes, abolish Right to Buy and introduce rent controls in areas where the rental market is “overheated”.