Britain’s rental sector is in crisis. As Zoopla warns of four to five percent increases in rental costs by the end of 2026 and rent costs reaching their highest ever percentage of average earnings in 2025, young renters are rightfully wondering where the money to live independently will come from. However, there are cities across Europe that the British Government could learn from. As action on rents becomes more urgent beyond eviction protections, what can Britain learn from Europe about protecting the wallets of renters?
As Brits are spending more of their wages on renting, it is time to look at alternative methods that can at least reduce the costs somewhat. While the Renters’ Rights Act was a positive step towards protecting tenants from exploitative landlords who take advantage of the fairly precarious nature of renting, it does not go quite far enough in its protections against large rent increases, meaning that further reform to the system needs to be made. As renters in London see the equivalent of all their pay until June being spent on renting, wider changes to the rental system are needed.
Vienna’s use of city-owned flats would provide a boost in affordability to young people in Britain. The model they use fuses the private and public sectors in renting, with three types of rented accommodation available. First, Gemeindewohnungen (City-owned flats) are owned by the City of Vienna and are operated by the city. Alongside this are over 200,000 subsidised, ‘co-operative’ housing projects that are built with government funding but are managed by a co-operative housing association. The third is the private rental market, which is more stringently regulated than in Britain. This system is one that Britain should learn from, pushing for a more logical approach to the quality of housing stock being provided. While Labour has pledged 1.5 million homes by the next general election, it is important to focus on how these homes are provided too, instead of just reaching targets.
A system like Vienna’s could improve availability while reducing the risk of needing to drastically extend housebuilding targets, showing a strong pathway to implementing a Vienna-style social housing allocation system. The City of Vienna can maintain a housing stock of 220,000 publicly owned houses that enables cheaper rents for residents and generates income for the city, providing a better solution for all. Each option is catered to people who have specific needs or situations, enabling more people to move into their own property for more affordable prices. Therefore, the smart system that Vienna uses to provide affordable rented housing is one that Britain should adopt for its social housing.
In terms of protecting tenants from high prices in an area in high demand, Berlin’s system of rent control has some elements that would greatly help tenants. Most important of these is the control of rents that limits them to being no more than 10% above comparable properties in the local area. While it does have exceptions for recently built apartments, the system means that initial rents are limited and prices in an area are balanced and fair. This provides an advantage by regulating rent prices more heavily, preventing excessive rises and high prices relative to an area. This also allows landlords of properties that are worth more to charge higher rents, meaning nicer houses in nicer areas remain economically viable too, ensuring that landlords aren’t priced out. This system would put renters and landlords on a more even playing field, while ensuring that it is a deal that doesn’t harm the landlords too significantly. While rent controls require effective housebuilding, the two strategies in tandem will allow for a system that can become fairer and contribute to a larger supply of affordable housing.
Finally, a points system like the one utilised in the Netherlands would make rental prices much fairer. The point scoring system employed to determine rents focuses on several factors like energy efficiency, size and value of the property. These are then used to determine the maximum price that can be charged for rent. This system ensures that properties are fairly priced and rents are representative of the quality of the building, preventing high rents for a sub-par property like is unfortunately very common in the UK. This is an important system that Britain should bring in, giving each property a points system that can determine the maximum rent that can be charged. While admittedly this would take a huge amount of effort to put in place, and would take a number of years to complete, the long-term rent security for tenants makes this a strong solution to excessive rent increases and unfair pricing. Further, this will limit excessive prices in in-demand cities like Manchester, London and Edinburgh, making them more affordable for tenants and helping to limit rental inflation in major cities.
It is important to note, though, that Britain’s cultural perception of renting needs to shift. Owning a home is treated like the end goal of British housing, something that people should aspire towards, and renting is treated as a stepping zone on the journey to full home ownership. This is in direct contrast with a city like Zürich, Switzerland, which enjoys a strong renting culture. This culture of renting enables a strong rental market and a preference for renting rather than buying. This would create a greater incentive for renting as a long-term housing option, strengthening the market and encouraging government policy to greater support a growing number of tenants.
I have presented four proposals that could improve renting in Britain today. Britain should adopt a system that is more supportive of renters, protecting them with an adequate, balanced housing stock that also has a system to determine the maximum rental charge of a property. The Dutch-style system, while the most challenging to implement, will also see the most benefits in the long run by controlling rents and ensuring that people can find good value for money.
