David Smith, policy director for the Residential Landlords Association, said the "figures show that the market is working".
Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 1.3% in the 12 months to July 2019 and is unchanged since May 2019, the latest data published by the Office for National Statistics.
In London they rose by 0.9% in the 12 months to July 2019 and are unchanged since May 2019. Over the same period, inflation was 2.1% as measured by CPI and 2.8%cent as measured by RPI.
David Smith, policy director for the Residential Landlords Association, said:“Today’s figures show that the market is working. It demonstrates clearly that introducing rent controls linked to inflation, as called for by some, would leave tenants worse off as rents would rise faster than they currently are.
“Welcome though today’s news is rising demand for and falling supply of homes for private rent risks considerable increases in rents which will only hurt tenants.
"It is vital that the government stops blaming landlords for the housing crisis and introduces positive, pro-growth measures, to support the majority of landlords who do a good job in providing the homes to rent the country desperately needs. All the talk of longer tenancies will mean nothing if the homes to rent are not there in the first place.”
According to the latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a fall in the supply of private rented housing whilst demand from prospective tenants increases is “likely to squeeze rents higher.”
