Labor plans to give local leaders the power to freeze rent increases if the party wins power

Shadow Leveling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy said at a fringe event that "doing nothing is not an option" and asked his team to create a "workable proposal"

Lisa Nandy says "doing nothing is not an option" (

Image: Stuart Boulton)

Labour is considering a policy to give local leaders the power to freeze rent increases for private tenants over the winter, Lisa Nandy has revealed.

Shadow Leveling Up's secretary said she was "very interested and attracted" to the idea and asked her team to create a "workable proposal".

She insisted that 'doing nothing is not an option' amid warnings from Shelter that around one in seven people saw their rent go up in the past month.

This comes after some Labor figures including John McDonnell, the former Shadow Chancellor, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for rent freezes amid the cost of living crisis.

Speaking at a side event at the labor conference, Ms Nandy said: "I am personally very interested and attracted to the idea that mayors and local council leaders should be able to take decisions to freeze rent increases in their local areas over the winter.

She added, "I've asked my team to look into this to see if we can make this a viable proposal. I think doing nothing is not an option."

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has previously called for a rent freeze in the capital (

Picture:

PENNSYLVANIA)

She also told Labor delegates that "the time has come for Labor to step up" and underlined: "For us, housing is not a market, it is a basic human right".< /p>

Ms Nandy added: "We need to focus on improving standards at all levels."

"I have announced that we will legislate within the first 100 days of a Labor government to provide a private tenants' charter and tip the balance of power towards tenants in the private rental sector.

This comes after Secretary Shadow Leveling Up laid out plans to create a Tenant Charter...