Sign This Petition

- If you are not already subscribed, would you like to receive email updates from Bristol Green Party, South West Green Party, and Green Party of England & Wales? * Yes, opt in to email updates No, do not opt in

Fair Rents For Bristol!

Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees

ALMOST 1/3 OF BRISTOL RESIDENTS TODAY

LIVE IN PRIVATE RENTAL HOMES

The average Bristol renter today will find rents 54% higher than in 2011, with year on year increases consistently outstripping any increase in wages.

Genuinely affordable rents have the power to give people the freedom to live a decent life, and help to lift families out of poverty - not just manage each month.

We cannot go on with this spiralling cost of living. It's time for city Mayors to join together in demanding powers from the government to set rent controls, as is common elsewhere in Europe and America. Data Bristol Greens have gathered shows that if rent had only been able to increase in line with wages, Bristolians would have saved £869 million since 2012 - almost enough to buy every private rental in the Bedminster area twice over today! The average household since then has overpaid £15,461.

We are calling for:

1) Further lobbying of the Government for rent controls so that we have the power locally to impose those rent controls for private renters

2) Work with Mayors of other UK regions to ensure there is a unified policy on rent controls

3) Annual reporting on what fair rents for Bristol should be

Full letter below.

Stats on proportion of renters from Bristol Fair Renting Manifesto. Sign the manifesto and join this renter-led campaign here
Stats on Average Bristol Rent Valuation Office Agency: Private Rental Market Statistics 2011, 2020-21 Private Rental Market Statistics - Office for National Statistics
Bristol's Overpaid Rent Calculator https://bristolgreenparty.org.uk/bristols-overcharged-renters

Sponsored by

Bristol Green Party

To: Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees
From: [Your Name]

Dear Mayor,

I’m a Bristol resident in privately rented housing and I’m worried about how I will continue to afford to keep my home. My income barely stays In line with inflation, and rent rises in Bristol continue to vastly outstrip wage increases.

The Green Party Rent Calculator shows how much rent private renters in Bristol have overpaid in the last 10 years, as opposed to if private rents had increased in line with wages.

Since 2012, increases higher than wage growth has led to us overpaying almost £869 million!

How much longer can we allow landlords to operate this wild west approach to raising rents, where only the sky's the limit?

I’m calling on you to:

1) Further lobby the Government for rent controls so that we have the power locally to impose rent controls to protect private renters

2) Work with Mayors of other UK cities and regions to ensure there is a unified call for rent controls

3) Report annually on what fair rents for dwellings in Bristol should be

Will you stand up to help private renters across the nation achieve a fair rent?