Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for a three-year emergency brake on rents in a pledge to end the "fear and uncertainty" of private renting.

Speaking at its annual conference, Polanski told delegates that the brake would allow wages to begin catching up with runaway rents, while the government could implement a long-term Fair Rents Guarantee. The move would prevent rents rising above CPI, wage growth or 2% – whichever is lowest – without sudden hikes or evictions under the guise of rent rises.

Polanski said landlords had been able to hike prices way beyond wages for too long, leaving renters forced to meet the cost to keep a roof over their heads, and cutting back on everything else.  

“That emergency brake would give renters vital breathing space,” he explained. “Let wages begin to catch up with the rents that have outstripped them for too long. And give government time to develop a national Fair Rents Guarantee – to keep rents fair and affordable for everyone, for ever.”  

Claimed

Earlier this year, Polanski claimed that households would be saving, on average, £3,000 per year if rent controls had been introduced in 2022. However, the government has repeatedly rejected the idea.

This week, Islington Council became the latest authority to make a stand, by declaring the borough to be in a state of “private renting crisis” and urged the government to give it the powers to impose rent controls and an emergency rent freeze. It follows similar moves by Hackney, Brighton and Hove, Oxford City and Worcester City councils.

Goodlord

Rents across the UK have risen by almost 5% year-on-year, according to the latest data from Goodlord, which reports that the market also saw month-on-month rises across the vast majority of the UK in September, as prices inched up despite the drag effect of the Renters’ Rights Act.

In September 2025, average rents were £1,507 per property. Last month, this had risen to £1,581. For tenants, this means properties are costing them £888 more per year compared to 2025.

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