Ken Livingstone promises to tackle soaring London rents if elected | Politics | guardian.co.uk

Ken Livingstone promises to tackle soaring London rents if elected | Politics | guardian.co.uk

Ken Livingstone has pledged to establish a London "living rent" and set up a city-wide non-profit lettings agency to challenge the "scandal of rip-off agency fees" and tackle rogue landlords, if elected mayor.

The Labour candidate made the two-pronged pitch in a bid to woo Londoners in the private rented sector facing soaring housing bills. Livingstone said no one should pay more than a third of their income on rent, as he cited figures showing that rents rose by 12% on average in the capital last year with no sign of improvement in the quality of the housing provided.

Boris Johnson's office slammed the suggestion of rent controls as a counter-productive move that would see fewer homes built. The cost and availability of housing in the capital surfaced as a key battleground for the mayoral race next year as Johnson, the incumbent mayor, told a housing conference on Tuesday that he will deliver an additional 45,000 new, affordable homes by 2015 if re-elected