5th
Dec 2024
A London council is urging letting agents to stop initiating bidding wars among private renters.
Southwark's Labour council has announced that it will be writing to agents to cease what it terms as "exploitative" practices.
According to the council, the average monthly rent for private properties in Southwark was £2,298 in October 2024, which is higher compared to the London average of £2,172 and the Great Britain average of £1,307.
The council has passed a motion to immediately ban bidding wars, following lobbying efforts by the rental activist group Acorn.
A spokesperson from the activists told the local press: “More work needs to be done to address renting affordability in Southwark. Until the Renters’ Rights Bill is passed, predatory letting agents will continue to increase rents as much as possible, pricing more people out of their homes.”
Labour councillor Sam Foster, told the council: “Exploitative bidding wars are worsening London’s housing crisis and it’s time for them to be banned.
“The broken housing market has been stacked against renters for a long time and I’m proud that Southwark is standing up for private renters and working with renters’ rights groups like Acorn to do so.”
The government claims that it will end so-called bidding wars through measures included in the Renters Rights Bill, which is currently undergoing the parliamentary process.
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