A prominent Midlands landlord has hit out at the Green Party’s proposal to phase out private renting, calling it “an ideal world idea” that would take decades to implement and risk severely reducing housing supply.

The remarks came during a tense on-air debate between Green councillor Alex Mace and John Kane, a Midlands landlord with a portfolio of buy-to-let properties, broadcasted on BBC Politics Midlands.

At its October conference, the Green Party formally adopted a policy to “end private landlordism” in favour of publicly owned housing and a major expansion of council housebuilding.

Alex Mace, a Worcester City councillor and co-sponsor of the motion, acknowledged the shift would take “a number of parliaments” but argued that local authorities could acquire existing rental homes using the same financial tools as landlords — namely, borrowing and rental income.

Mace added: The idea is that rent would go back to the council rather than to private landlords.” He added that the policy’s goal was not to remove all landlords entirely, but to drastically reduce the number of privately rented homes over time.”

The proposals have sparked widespread concern across the housing sector. One landlords’ association described them as “economically naïve and socially destructive,” warning they could destabilise the market. Industry analysts caution that withdrawing private investment would trigger a collapse in rental supply long before public housing could scale up — driving rents higher and deepening the shortage of available homes.

Kane agreed that, in theory, a universal public housing system be a vote winner to some voters. “It would be an ideal world if everyone’s accommodation were provided through the state rather than private enterprise,” he said. “But that’s not how the real world works.”

He firmly rejected the portrayal of landlords as exploitative, arguing that the majority of private investors manage small-scale portfolios and operate responsibly within the sector, he said “Private landlords are not all Rachman-type companies. A typical landlord runs three or four properties — it’s their pension.” 

Current data from HMRC and landlord associations shows that 93% of UK landlords own fewer than five properties, with many depending on rental income to fund retirement. Removing these small-scale investors from the market would eliminate over four million rental homes — a shortfall no local authority could realistically replace within a generation.

Kane highlighted: “Landlords use their own savings and take personal risk. Councils can’t do that at scale without enormous taxpayer exposure.”

The majority of landlords believes that the debate highlights a widening disconnect between political ambition and the realities of housing delivery. The private rented sector remains a critical part of the UK’s housing system, accommodating one in five households — including millions who are unable to secure a mortgage or qualify for social housing.