DEMANDS for a freeze on private housing rents have been made to Housing and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove as millions of tenants were revealed to be struggling with housing costs.

The demand came in an open letter from London, Greater Manchester and Liverpool Mayors Sadiq Khan, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, the Green Party, London Renters Union (LRU), trade unions including NEU, RMT, CWU and Unison and other organisations.

They demanded a rent freeze and an eviction ban, as the Scottish government has implemented.

New research reveals that one in two private renters nationally are struggling with housing costs and four in five London renters have been hit hard by unaffordable housing.

“As wages hit a near 20-year low forcing half a million workers to strike earlier this month, rents continue to skyrocket at record rates,” the letter reads.

And they accuse the government of failing to implement a 2019 pledge to change legislation which allows “no-fault” evictions.

Unions say their members are being squeezed by falling pay and rising housing costs.

LRU reported average London rent rises of £3,400 (20.5 per cent) in December, against 12 per cent nationally.

LRU spokesperson Liam Miller said: “The government has the power to protect people from unaffordable rent rises, but it is choosing instead to preside over a wild west rental market that is punishing the people who kept the country going through the pandemic. 

“A rent freeze now is the only way to address the scale and urgency of the crisis and would represent a step towards a stronger housing system that meets everyone’s needs.”

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Department said: “Evidence shows rent controls in the private sector do not work — leading to declining standards and a lack of investment and may encourage illegal subletting.”