Pressure is building on the Labour government to go further than its Renters' Rights Bill and introduce direct regulation of private rents, with tenant campaign groups arguing that abolishing Section 21 evictions does nothing to address the affordability crisis driving record numbers of households into arrears. The demand, which has gathered momentum since rents across England rose by an average of 8.9% in the year to mid-2024 according to ONS figures, marks a significant escalation from a policy debate about security of tenure to one about the price of tenancy itself — and it is this shift that should concern every landlord and institutional investor with exposure to UK residential property.