A Green Party politician has provoked anger and alarm across the housing and political sectors after calling for landlords to be banned from profiting from rental properties and proposing a £600 monthly rent cap on two-bedroom flats in Hackney.
Dylan Law, 20, the Green Party candidate for Deputy Mayor of Hackney, said he could see “no reason” why landlords should earn a return from providing housing, arguing that renting is a “human right” and that tenants are simply “paying to maintain a home”.
His comments, made in an interview with PoliticsJoe, included a proposal that rents for two-bedroom flats in the borough be capped at £600 a month — a figure far below current market levels, which are typically around £2,600.
“If it has to be a thing where a two-bedroom flat is £600 maximum, then it is what it has to be,” Mr Law said, adding that landlords unhappy with the policy should accept “tough luck”.
Hackney's Green Deputy Mayor candidate Dylan Law: Landlords should NEVER profit off their tenants. pic.twitter.com/z9668gq6rX
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) May 8, 2026
The remarks have triggered strong criticism from economists and policy analysts, who warn that such controls would deter investment, reduce housing supply and ultimately push rents higher in the long term.
Maxwell Marlow of the Adam Smith Institute described the proposal as reflecting a “fundamental misunderstanding of economics”, arguing that heavy-handed rent controls have historically led to shortages and deterioration in housing stock rather than affordability gains.
The controversy comes as the Green Party made gains in parts of London, including securing the Hackney mayoralty in a borough where private renters make up around 30 per cent of residents.
Mr Law, a former member of the Hackney Youth Parliament and European Youth Parliament, is a youth campaigner and student who has been active in local politics.
The Green Party has long supported rent controls as part of its housing policy platform, despite repeated warnings from economists that such measures can distort markets and discourage long-term investment in rental housing.
Critics say the latest proposal goes further than typical rent stabilisation policies and amounts to an effective expropriation of rental income.
Supporters of rent caps argue that the private rental sector has become increasingly unaffordable in many parts of London, leaving tenants exposed to rising costs and insecurity.
The intervention comes amid broader political volatility in the capital, where Labour has faced electoral setbacks and smaller parties have made gains by tapping into voter frustration over housing costs and living standards.
However, for opponents, the Hackney proposal will reinforce concerns that the Greens are prepared to embrace radical economic interventions that risk unintended consequences in already strained housing markets.
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