Zack Polanski will urge the government to impose a three-year cap on private rent increases, limiting rises to the lowest of CPI inflation, wage growth or 2%, to give renters breathing space while a Fair Rents Guarantee is developed. The call comes amid Greens' membership growth and recent electoral gains, which the party says have pressured Labour to shift on issues like electoral reform and refugee resettlement. Critics, including the Institute for Fiscal Studies, warn rent controls can cause unintended market distortions, while the Renters' Rights Act introduced earlier this year offers more modest protections.
Polanski Proposes Three-Year ‘Emergency Brake’ on Private Rent Rises
Zack Polanski will address the Green Party's conference in Brighton on Friday [Getty Images]
Zack Polanski will use his opening address at the Green Party conference in Brighton to call for a three-year "emergency brake" on private rent increases, framing housing as a matter of generational fairness and urgent political reform.
Polanski plans to urge ministers to cap private rent rises for three years at whichever is lowest of: the consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation, wage growth, or 2%. He will argue this would give renters "vital breathing space" while ministers design a national Fair Rents Guarantee intended to keep rents affordable in the future.
Why the Measure Is Being Proposed
Polanski is set to highlight how high housing costs are affecting life stages across the country: young people commuting to university, recent graduates struggling to find work, and couples in their 30s moving back in with parents because they cannot afford rent. "For too long, landlords have been able to hike prices way beyond wages, leaving renters forced to meet the cost to keep a roof over their heads," he will say.
Policy Context and Reactions
Earlier this year the government introduced the Renters' Rights Act, which restricts landlords to increasing rent only once a year to the property's open market rate, makes most tenancies rolling rather than fixed-term, and tightens eviction rules. According to the Office for National Statistics, average UK monthly private rents rose by 3.5% to £1,377 in the 12 months to January 2026.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that rent controls can produce "unintended consequences" such as demand outstripping supply in the rental market. The Greens' co-deputy leader, Rachel Millward, told BBC Breakfast most landlords are "super-earners" who could "absorb a slight reduction in rent."
Political Momentum And Risks
The Greens say their campaigning has pushed Labour to change course on several issues. The party has reported rapid membership growth since Polanski became leader and points to hundreds of council gains and the addition of a fifth MP, Hannah Spencer, who won the Gorton and Denton by-election earlier this year (a previous version of this story incorrectly named Makerfield).
However, Greens strategists note national polling gains have plateaued recently, and the party faces choices about how to position itself following Labour's shift under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, including moves on electoral reform, closer ties with the EU, sanctions on certain Israeli West Bank settlements, and refugee resettlement schemes. Polanski will argue some of those shifts are the result of electoral pressure from the Greens.
By-Election And Campaigning
The timing of the conference coincides with the Holborn and St Pancras by-election next week, triggered by Sir Keir Starmer's departure from Parliament. Polanski is standing as the Green candidate and has asked conference activists to campaign over the weekend. A Green victory would be the party's first seat in London but would require overturning a substantial Labour majority from the 2024 general election.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Hannah Spencer won a by-election in Makerfield. She actually won the by-election in Gorton and Denton.
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