Campaigners have called for rent controls to lower the cost of living (Picture: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) For a brief period at the end of April this year, speculation was bubbling that Chancellor Rachel Reeves might announce a rent freeze to help with the cost of living. The suggestion was quickly and comprehensively hosed down by Downing Street, who said that is ‘not the approach we will be taking’. Speaking to Metro at the time, Housing Secretary Steve Reed went further, suggesting he didn’t think ‘anyone sensible’ would want to see controls on rent introduced anywhere in the country. ‘I can see why it sounds attractive, but you’ve got to look at what happens in practice, and it did the opposite of what people thought it would do so that isn’t the right way to