HC Deb 20 February 1968 vol 759 c55W
80. Mr. Hugh Jenkins

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, in view of the official forecast made in December, 1965 that London rents would go down and the fact that they have since then gone up in Putney and elsewhere in London, if he will introduce further legislation with a view to correcting this tendency.

Mr. MacColl

On average, London rents have been reduced in houses of less than£75 G.V., flats of less than£100 G.V. and rooms where G.V. was less than£200; in some 15 per cent. of cases rents have been reduced by amounts ranging from 30 per cent. to over 50 per cent. This accords with the position shown by the Milner Holland report which said that scarcity was being exploited not by the average landlord but by a small minority. My right hon. Friend has no proposals for altering the general provisions for determining a fair rent.