Polanski urges Green vote to push Labour as he makes rent-cap pitch

Green Party leader Zack Polanski is expected to call for a three-year limit on private rent increases when he opens the party’s conference. Under his proposal, rises would be capped at the lowest of consumer price inflation, wage growth or 2%. He is due to urge the government to adopt the plan. [1]

Polanski is expected to argue that the limit would give renters breathing space while ministers develop a national Fair Rents Guarantee. The proposal would go further than the Renters’ Rights Act, introduced earlier this year, under which landlords can raise rent once a year to a property’s open-market rate. [1]

Average UK monthly private rents rose 3.5% in the year to January 2026, reaching £1,377, according to Office for National Statistics figures cited by the BBC. [1]

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has previously warned that rent controls could have unintended consequences, including demand for rental homes exceeding supply. [1]

Update

At the Green Party’s annual conference in Brighton, Polanski told members: “Vote Green, and watch Labour move.” He claimed sustained pressure from his party had already influenced Labour’s positions on climate and Israel. He also accused Labour of failing to act on housing and criticised its cost-of-living record. [2]