Housing minister warns over capping rent
CAPPING the rent of too many private sector properties in Guernsey could result in higher prices for other tenants, Housing minister Dave Jones has warned.
Deputy Jones said, in his department's view, the use of rent control, which is administered by Housing and allows the States to cap the amount of rent charged by certain landlords, was a 'blunt tool'.
He said that if the market was operating effectively landlords would not overcharge in case they failed to attract any tenants and tenants would shop around to find a combination of rent and building quality that worked for them.
'I know that some people want to see more rent-controlled properties – presumably, they'd want to see the entire private rental sector capped, for why would you argue that some properties should be capped and not others?' he said.
'The department has concerns that capping too many private sector rents will encourage private residential landlords to sell up, causing the sector to contract, which in turn would result in higher prices being charged for the few remaining properties.'
