Soon, a different system of rent controls will be coming to the UK. In Scotland, councils will be allowed to ask the government for permission to impose rent controls on private properties in some areas. This is expected to happen by spring 2027. Temporary rent controls introduced in October 2022 expired in spring 2025.
There have been calls for rent controls elsewhere in the UK, too. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London – where the average monthly rent in December 2025 was £2,268, the highest in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – has long lobbied the government to cap rents.
Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, too, says capping rents should be on the table. Speaking before he was blocked from standing as Labour candidate in a forthcoming by-election, he tells me: “If you’re going to get serious about tackling the cost-of-living crisis, this is something you have to look at.”
But many economists say rent controls can create as many problems as they solve. Landlord groups also warn they can exacerbate the housing crisis by putting owners off renting out properties – and this, critics argue, is what happened in Berlin. Supporters of controls say these criticisms don’t recognise the range of different approaches that can be taken.
The term “rent controls” covers a wide range of arrangements around the world and sounds like a renter’s dream. But amid the warnings of unintended consequences, can they actually function successfully?