Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for a new three-year “emergency brake” on private rents, using a Triple Lock-style formula to limit how much landlords can increase rents. Speaking at the Green Party conference in Brighton, Mr Polanski proposed that rent rises should be capped at the lowest of CPI inflation, wage growth or 2%.
Under the proposal, landlords would not be able to increase private rents above whichever of the three measures is lowest. Mr Polanski said: “Today I’m calling for a three-year emergency brake on private rents – no rent rises above CPI, wage growth or 2% – whichever is lower.”
He said the measure would mean “no sudden hikes, no evictions under the guise of rent rises, no more fear and uncertainty”.
The Green Party leader also called for a national Fair Rents Guarantee to be introduced after the three-year emergency period.
The proposed system takes its name from the State Pension Triple Lock, although the two mechanisms would work differently. The State Pension currently rises each year by whichever is highest of average earnings, inflation or 2.5%.
Mr Polanski said rising housing costs were putting pressure on younger adults and families, with some people unable to afford to move out of their parents’ homes.
He described 25-year-olds who cannot find work and “can’t imagine ever being able to afford to rent even a room of their own”, as well as people in their 30s who have moved back in with their parents alongside partners and children.
The Green Party says the proposed rent brake would give wages time to catch up with rental costs, while giving the Government time to develop its longer-term Fair Rents Guarantee.
Official figures show average UK private rents rose by 3.7% in the year to July 2026, according to the Office for National Statistics. Annual regular earnings growth, excluding bonuses, stood at 3.5% in the three months to July.
The proposal comes as the Government is also making changes to the State Pension Triple Lock.
From 2030, the Government plans to adjust the pension system so that increases will be at least inflation or 2.5%, while a new earnings link is intended to ensure the State Pension does not fall below its record level relative to average earnings.
The Green Party’s proposed rent guarantee would therefore use a similar set of economic measures but apply the lowest figure rather than the highest.
The party says its longer-term Fair Rents Guarantee would aim to keep private rents “fair and affordable” on a permanent basis.
