How tax reform would make rent controls feasible to deliver launch webinar
Join this webinar launching the first report from our Ending the Rent Squeeze programme, showing how rent controls and tax reform could reduce rents.
Private renters' living standards have been under sustained pressure as rents have continued to squeeze incomes. Recent increases have driven insecurity, poverty and homelessness.
Rent controls could help ease this pressure, but their success depends on careful design. Critics argue they would lead to a rapid sell-off of properties and/or would reduce investment that would ultimately harm tenants.
New research commissioned by JRF from the Autonomy Institute challenges these concerns, showing many landlords have generated strong returns since 2018 which justifies the case for intervening on rents. JRF’s new report finds that rent controls would reduce costs for renters and lower the housing benefit bill, and landlord profitability could be protected if paired with targeted tax reforms.
More about this event
Learn more in this insightful webinar that will:
- set out the scale of ‘supernormal’ returns most landlords are generating, the impact of higher interest rates on landlord returns, and how returns vary across different types of landlords
- explain how tax reform could rebalance the sector and create conditions for landlords to operate sustainably under rent controls
- present JRF’s modelling, showing how combining rent controls with tax reform could reduce the cost of renting and put the housing benefit bill on a more sustainable footing — without jeopardising the private rented sector
- share our thinking on how rent controls could be designed to navigate the potential for unintended consequences.
The webinar will last for 1 hour including a 40-minute presentation followed by time to ask questions.
Speakers
Prior to joining JRF, Darren worked on housing, UK poverty and environmental policy at a leading progressive think-tank. Darren has worked in academic research and conducted a PhD at the University of York.
Rosie is a Senior Policy Adviser at JRF, where she leads our housing and land work. She previously worked on consumer and housing policy at Citizens Advice. Before working in policy, Rosie worked in academic research, with her work focussing on feminist research methodologies and critical approaches to social science. She has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Essex.
Will is Autonomy’s Chief Executive. He holds a PhD in Politics and Philosophy from the University of Brighton and with Helen Hester is the author of Post-work (Bloomsbury 2025).
Who is this event for?
This webinar will benefit anyone who works in housing policy, economics or campaigns, such as:
- policy advisers and policymakers
- economists
- campaigners on housing, poverty and homelessness issues
- academics
- local and combined authority staff
This event is part of the housing topic.
Find out more about our work in this area.