Greens promise 'immediate' rent freeze and eviction ban at local election launch

The Green Party has pledged to tackle the housing crisis by bringing in rent controls at the launch of its local election campaign.

Party co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay told an audience in Suffolk they would introduce an "immediate rent freeze and eviction ban" to tackle the housing crisis.

Ms Denyer said voters "want something different from the status quo - they want, and we hear this again and again, people that are really listening, not taking their support for granted and going about business as usual".

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Councils currently do not have the legal powers to introduce rent controls, meaning the Greens would have to gain power in Westminster to bring in the policy. Currently, they have only one MP - Caroline Lucas for Brighton Pavilion.

Mr Ramsay said the party was "on track for record success" and would win "hundreds of new Green councillors on 4 May" when voters go to the polls.

Voters in some parts of England and Northern Ireland will be able to choose new councillors in 241 councils next month.

The cost of living crisis has prompted further calls for rent controls - which would allow local authorities to set rent levels or limit any potential increases - as people struggle to heat their homes and pay their bills.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that UK rent increased by 4.4% as of January this year.

Campaigners argue that rent hikes are fuelling poverty and homelessness, but the government does not support rent controls in the private sector, arguing it would discourage investment and lead to declining standards.

However, it does support measures such as allowing rent increases only once per year and increasing the minimum notice landlords must give ahead of any potential hike to two months.

Last year, London mayor Sadiq Khan told Sky News he wanted to introduce a bespoke rent control system in the capital, saying renters faced a "triple whammy" of a rise in energy bills, inflation and rent hikes.

Launching their plan for housing, Ms Denyer said: "We're proud to announce today one of our key solutions to a huge problem impacting millions - our Right Homes, Right Place, Right Price charter.

"This is a plan to beat the housing crisis, and at the same time, to protect the green spaces we've all come to value so much."

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Ms Denyer said that local councils should be in charge of housing to build "quality, affordable homes in the right places with the right infrastructure to make living there not just bearable, but good".

"People are trapped in housing that's unaffordable to rent and unaffordable to heat," she added.

"We can't allow people to become homeless in the middle of a cost of living crisis, and in the longer term, we would give councils the power to bring in rent controls in areas where the market is overheated," Ms Denyer said.

"We would also put much stricter controls on the types of new housing being built to include more council homes and more affordable housing for people buying, and for renters."