Rent control
Rent control is a broad term for laws that limit how much and how fast rent can rise, beyond the normal protections for residential tenants in the Private Rented Sector (PRS). In the UK today, full rent control mainly survives in older regulated tenancies, where a fair rent is registered and caps what a private landlord can charge.
For modern private tenancies and assured tenancies, there is no across-the-board cap on rent levels. Instead, the law focuses on process and fairness:
In England, rent increases usually go through a statutory route such as Section 13, with tenants able to challenge rises at the Tribunal.
Under the Renters’ Rights Act, government has signalled a move away from classic rent control to stronger rental standards, clearer rules on permitted payments, and tighter scrutiny of sharp or exploitative practices, for example some forms of rental bidding.
From a landlord’s perspective, “rent control” in policy debates often means proposals for stronger limits on increases within a tenancy, linked to inflation or wage indexes. Even without full control, you should expect more attention to evidencing that increases are reasonable, properly notified, and not being used to force tenants out instead of relying on legitimate possession grounds.
Also see our landlord blog articles.
