Tories are 'beached ideologically', says Miliband as he vows to reform rents

Tories are 'beached ideologically', says Miliband as he vows to reform rents
Labour leader rejects Tory claim that he wants Venezuela-style rent controls by pointing out that Eric Pickles backed the idea



Ed Miliband has said that the Tories are "beached ideologically" after Grant Shapps accused him of planning Venezuelan-style rent controls as part of a series of reforms to the rental market which echo changes proposed by Eric Pickles.

The Labour leader laughed off suggestions that he was the heir to Hugo Chávez, declaring that the title should be awarded instead to Pickles, who first came up with proposals to limit rent increases.

"They are beached ideologically," the Labour leader said of the Tories' response to the "cost-of-living crisis". "They don't know what their answer is to this crisis because their traditional answer – which is the race to the bottom answer of the low wage, low skilled, insecurity, let's just keep out answer – is not an answer."

Miliband, who was speaking in Redbridge, Essex, at the launch of Labour's campaign for the European and local elections, mocked his opponents after Shapps accused him of following in the footsteps of Chávez after he outlined plans to introduce a ceiling on rent increases in the private sector.

In one of Labour's most significant policy announcements since his pledge last year to freeze energy prices, Miliband said that landlords would be banned by a Labour government from imposing more than one rent rise a year. A ceiling would be introduced on any rises with a new benchmark linked to average rent rises, inflation or a combination of the two.

Landlords would be banned from evicting tenants as a quick way of increasing rental income with the introduction of three-year tenancy agreements with strict rules. Landlords would only be able to terminate contracts with two months' notice if a tenant fell into arrears or was guilty of antisocial behaviour; or if the landlord wanted to sell the property or needed it for their family.

Letting agents would also be banned from charging tenants fees, which can be as high as £500, just to sign a tenancy agreement. They will instead have to ask landlords for fees.

Miliband read from a government press release issued last October by Pickles which outlined similar ideas. The document said: "Any model for longer fixed-term tenancies should highlight that … rent review clauses, which are index-linked to inflation, will provide both landlords and tenants with greater financial certainty to plan over a longer period."

The Labour leader told his audience: "As far as I am concerned that was Eric Pickles advocating Labour's policy. I am looking forward to Grant Shapps saying to Eric Pickles: 'You are Hugo Chávez.'"

Miliband said that his ideas did not amount to rent control because the market would still set the level of rent. He said: "There is one view about the way you should take the private rental market forward, which is going back to the situation where government sets a rent level. That isn't what we are proposing. We are saying landlords and tenants negotiate the rent level.

"But what we are saying, which makes basic common sense, is there must be predictability within a three-year tenancy. And by the way this is good not just for tenants but for landlords. One of the things we have had is a churning effect of people going round. It is not good for tenants and it is not good for landlords either.

"Look what happened in Ireland. They brought this system in about 10 years ago. Far from leading to a reduction in the private rental market you saw a rise from about 9% to 18%."

But the Tories said that the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors, whose work is due to help Labour work out a system for a ceiling on rent, has rejected the idea.

The Tories highlighted a quote from a RICS spokesman, who said: "We do not recommend that a government introduce a ceiling on rent increases."

Miliband, who hopes that his reforms to the private rental market will be one of the most eye-catching elements in his campaign to tackle rising living costs, published a "cost-of-living contract" with voters.

He said: "Generation rent is a generation that has been ignored for too long. Nine million people are living in rented homes today, over a million families and over 2 million children. That is why a Labour government will take action to deliver a fairer deal for them, too."

Miliband decided to act after a 13% rise in the average costs of rent since 2010. He said: "One of the biggest causes of the cost-of-living crisis in our country is the price of renting or buying a home. People simply can't afford it, they're priced out, saving for a deposit year after year, decade after decade, or having to look for somewhere to live further and further away from where they go to work or where the kids have always gone to school."

Shapps said: "This is another short-term gimmick – political tampering from Ed Miliband. Evidence from Britain and around the world conclusively demonstrates that rent controls lead to poorer quality accommodation, fewer homes being rented and ultimately higher rents – hurting those most in need. And it's yet another Labour policy bought by Ed Miliband's union boss, Len McCluskey."

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/01/tories-beached-ideologically-miliband-reform-rental-market

Oh dear, how terrible, fancy saying the rent should not be allowed to go through the roof.

It was unravelling as he was speaking another sound bite policy founded on no real research.

Jus like his economic policy which he has been wrong about for 4years. Are you proud about always being wrong and supporting those politicians who are even worse?

As a former landlord myself I can say it isn't worth it, it simply doesn't pay, this will put even more potential landlords off if he ever gets into power.

Yes Drinky, we know your views. Rich people musn't pay tax and landlords must be free to demand anything they want. Pretty soon they will have to start living in the same world as the rest of us. It most certainly is not unravelling and a huge amount of research was done.

It appear Pickles agrees with it as well, fancy that lol

Bollocks are you saying he wasn't wrong over the economy and it wasn't unravelling during the day?

You beautifully demonstrate the RW assertions that you are blind to evidence that contradicts anything that undermines your lefty dogma. Already no doubt you have forgotten you have been supporting the spend spend tax mantra and supporting Frances Socialist. Wrong wrong and wrong again.

Millibble is an unreconstructed politics of envy class warrior. In the end do you really think that constitutes a winning fomula to manage an economy.

Fucking deluded.

No Drinky, you are fucking deluded if you think people are going to sit back forever and let those with keep take take taking. That's not class envy, that's seeking justice and making a section of the population realise that they don't have an automatic right to the best of everything.

Alright said Fred wrote:Bollocks are you saying he wasn't wrong over the economy and it wasn't unravelling during the day?

You beautifully demonstrate the RW assertions that you are blind to evidence that contradicts anything that undermines your lefty dogma. Already no doubt you have forgotten you have been supporting the spend spend tax mantra and supporting Frances Socialist. Wrong wrong and wrong again.

Millibble is an unreconstructed politics of envy class warrior. In the end do you really think that constitutes a winning fomula to manage an economy.

Fucking deluded.

He was wrong over the economy because we aren't anywhere near where he said we would be at this point in time and he has had to borrow billions more than he predicted just to cover it. He threw away growth that he inherited and he has missed almost every fiscal target he set himself and he lost our triple AAA rating as well which he said would be a judge of his policies.

And the Tories borrowed more than Labour ever did and we got nothing to show for it.

Oh they have, 5MILLION either unemployed, on zero hours and getting no work, or on zero hours and getting some work. That's something to be really proud of