Rental supply across London has fallen to its lowest level in years, with new figures suggesting available listings have dropped by close to a quarter compared with pre-pandemic norms, even as average asking rents in the capital push past £2,200 a month. Against this backdrop, Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has confirmed he is actively examining rent control mechanisms for the city-region — a policy move that would mark the most significant intervention in England's private rented sector since the abolition of rent regulation in the 1980s. The timing is striking: London's experience offers a live case study in what happens when landlords, faced with rising costs and regulatory uncertainty, simply withdraw stock from the market rather than absorb tighter margins.