No 10 dismisses Reeves’s reported plan for freeze on private rents

Downing Street says focus to remains on cutting bills, backing renters and lowering energy prices

Downing Street has dismissed a freeze on private sector rents even as Rachel Reeves left the door open to the idea, after the Guardian revealed the chancellor has been considering it as an option to cut the cost of living.

A No 10 spokesperson said on Tuesday freezing private sector rents was “not the approach we will be taking” after sources told the Guardian it was Reeves’s preferred solution for dealing with a spike in housing costs in the wake of the Iran war.