HUNDREDS of renters protested outside letting agents in six London boroughs on Saturday to demand Britain implement an emergency rent freeze similar to that of the Scottish government.
 
The renters from the London Renters Union (LRU) were also highlighting the “human cost of the rental crisis” the “key role” letting agents play in “gouging rents well above inflation,” the LRU said in a press release.
 
The organisation has reported an average rent increase of 20.5 per cent or £3,378 per year. Those numbers are based on 150 rent rises which have been reported to the union since September 20. 
 
The demonstrations happened outside Foxtons, Winkworths, and other letting agents in Tottenham, Bow, Stratford, Hackney, Willesden and Crystal Palace. Some of the estate agents were forced to close to customers for the day, the LRU said.
 
Rebekah Hesse-Clark from London Renters Union said: “Landlords and estate agents like Foxtons are using the current economic crisis to artificially increase rents and boost profits. The rent rises being pushed through are unfair and unjustifiable. Nearly half of all landlords do not have a mortgage, and many will be not affected by rising mortgage rates.
 
“By refusing to introduce a rent freeze like the one in Scotland, the government is leaving renters to face eviction and homelessness.”
 
LRU unfurled a banner from the roof of Foxtons in Hackney during the protest on Saturday, which said “Freeze Rent Not Renters.” In other locations renters reportedly put landlords in fake stocks, sang rent rise-themed Christmas carols, and gave speeches about homelessness and eviction. 
 
The Scottish government introduced a freeze on rents in October.