The name of the game Nick is to gain as much rent as possible so yes in a way this is true. Ultimately though the market (like any other market) is driven by supply and demand with the main determining factor being the 300k+ foreigners arriving year on year which naturally pushes the prices higher and higher each year. You may not like this answer but as a landlord I can categorically tell you that that is the truth Nick – more and more people arriving and not enough stock to go round means rents will just keep going up for the foreseeable future. The country’s immigration policy – not landlords are pushing up the rents.

Wont be long before we see a return of PreFabs.

I have looked nick,as I said before it is an absolute none starter you simply cannot build 240.000 houses in a year.
And as for the rent controls,Ihave some sympathy for this....but how is it gonna work the govenment telling private landlords what they can charge for rent...thats gonna work.

The Attlee government built more than a million homes.

The Conservative government elected in 1951 pledged (and succeeded) to build 300,000 homes a year.

It all depends on priorities and political will at the highest levels and what voters clamour for.

There are 418 upper and second tier councils in the UK. England has 353 unitary, upper and second tier councils. There are 32 unitaries in Scotland, 22 unitaries and Wales and 11 unitaries in Northern Ireland.So,an average of 287 homes per authority.

How rent controls would work would be by undoing the Thatcher government's 1980's near abolition of rent controls and reintroducing what served us ok for more than 60 years under governments of various hues...

Edited by legaleagle (07 Sep 2015 10.38pm)