In a letter to a lobbying association for the private rented sector, Kris Hopkins, the Housing Minister has stated that rent controls should not be introduced as they are unworkable.

Hopkins wrote: “The history of capping rents is declining investment and so less choice for tenants. Before the Housing Act 1988 when the rents were regulated, the private rented market was in decline at only 9% of the market. Since then, once lease terms and rents were freed, the private rented market has doubled to 17% of the overall market. So the lesson is that capping rents doesn’t work.

“We believe the key to improving affordability is to build more homes; and we have several initiatives to tackle this, including a new fund now worth £1bn. The fund will provide private equity finance to house builders and developers to stimulate building for private rent, and a new debt guarantee for up to £10bn, for both private rented and affordable housing schemes.

Because of the lowering standards of privately rented accommodation and some landlords who operated outside of the law, rent controls were abolished in the late 1980s.