Ken Livingstone promises to tackle rising London rents
Wednesday, 14 December 2011 10:25 AM
Prospective mayor Ken Livingstone has promised to tackle rising rents through the establishment of a "London living rent".
His scheme would aim to ensure nobody is faced with rent charges amounting to more than one third of their income, an idea reminiscent of the London Living Wage.
The former Labour mayor of London cited figures showing a 12 per cent rent rise in the capital last year.
However the current Conservative mayor of London Boris Johnson called rent controls "counter productive".
Johnson told the London Policy Conference on Tuesday that he would provide an extra 45,000 new, affordable homes by 2015 if re-elected.
That follows on from his pledge of 50,000 new affordable homes by 2011, which officials say will now be delivered by the end of his first term.
Livingstone said that renting was the only option for many Londoners as the average first-time buyer property now costs over £257,000.
He said: "Too many Londoners pay more than one third of their income in rent.
"That benchmark should be the indicator that drives us in our work to improve the living standards of Londoners from all walks of life."
However a spokesman for Johnson hit back at Livingstone and accused him of confusing ideological appeal with practicality.
He added: "The mayor does not have the power to introduce them [rent controls] and even if he did, they would be devastating for the construction industry.
"It would result in fewer homes being built and lead landlords to invest less in their stock."
Johnson also announced plans for a London Rental Standard, which will accredit 100,000 private landlords by 2016.
The mayor added: "Boosting house building is critical for the economy and for the thousands of Londoners who are yearning to get on to the property ladder.
"With £3bn secured from the government, new powers and affordable homes delivery at record levels, we have solid foundations on which to build and cement London's housing future."
Third mayoral candidate, Brian Paddick, standing again for the Liberal Democrats and thus completing the line-up for a re-run on the last mayoral election, labelled the house building process "too slow".
If elected he said he would develop a new home building programme for 250,000 people.
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