Zack Polanski to call for three-year cap on private rent rises

Zack Polanski is set to call for a three-year "emergency brake" on private rent increases when he opens the Green Party's conference later.

In his speech to party activists on Friday afternoon, the Green leader will seek to frame housing as a key issue of generational fairness.

He will urge the government to prevent private rents rising above whichever is lowest out of the consumer price index measure of inflation , wage growth or 2%, for three years.

According to the party, he will also argue pressure from the Greens has forced Labour into a change of political direction on some issues.

The Green Party of England and Wales is billing the gathering in Brighton as its biggest ever, after announcing earlier this year that its membership had tripled since Polanski's election as leader just over a year ago.

In his speech, Polanski is expected to say generations are having to live with their parents because of rent prices, from 19-year-olds commuting to university, 25-year-olds unable to find a job, to 35-year-olds moving back home with their partners.

"For too long, landlords have been able to hike prices way beyond wages, leaving renters forced to meet the cost to keep a roof over their heads, cutting back and back and back on everything else," he is expected to say.

A slowdown on private rent increases "would give renters vital breathing space" and give time for ministers to create a national Fair Rents Guarantee that keeps rents affordable for the future, he is expected to say.

Earlier this year, the government brought in the Renters' Rights Act under which landlords can only increase rent once a year to the property's open market rate.

Average UK monthly private rents increased by 3.5%, to £1,377, in the 12 months to January 2026, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Act also means tenancies are rolling rather than fixed term, and makes it harder for landlords to evict tenants.

But Polanski is expected to argue it does not go far enough in ending "fear and uncertainty" for the millions of private renters in the UK.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has previously warned that rent controls - an issue the Greens have long campaigned for - would result in "unintended consequences" including demand exceeding supply in the rental market.

Issues for Greens to grapple with at conference

The Green conference follows the party gaining hundreds of councillors earlier this year at England's local elections and its fifth MP, Hannah Spencer, in the Makerfield by-election.

But there are signs its rise in national polls may have stalled in recent months, while the party also faces questions over how to react to Labour's change of leadership under Andy Burnham.

Since Burnham became prime minister, Labour has shifted its stance in a number of areas where it had been in danger of being outflanked politically by the Greens.

In an interview ahead of the conference, the party's co-deputy leader Rachel Millward said Labour was now "rhetorically, on a much more similar ground" to her party.

This includes Burnham's move towards electoral reform , where the Greens have long demanded a shake-up of the Westminster voting system, and opening the door to a much closer future relationship with the European Union.

Labour has also announced sanctions on Israeli West Bank settlements deemed illegal under international law, and the reopening of a scheme to resettle refugees .

Speaking ahead of the conference, Polanski claimed those two policies were a result of the electoral pressure his party has applied to Labour.

The timing of the conference could, however, prove awkward for Polanski, who is standing for the Greens in next week's Holborn and St Pancras by-election triggered by Sir Keir Starmer's decision to leave Parliament .

Polanski said last week he was intending to come "straight back" to the central London seat after his leader's speech.

He has even urged the party's activists to leave the conference over the weekend to help him campaign.

Victory in the contest would give the Greens their first seat in the capital, but would require them to overturn a huge Labour majority from the last election in 2024. A full list of candidates can be found here .

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