The Green Party has officially adopted a controversial new policy aiming to “abolish landlords”, following a vote at its party conference in Bournemouth on Sunday.
The motion, titled ‘Abolish Landlords’, passed with strong support from party members and is now part of the Green Party’s official platform. However, party co-leader Zack Polanski is not required to use the motion’s exact wording in future campaigns or messaging.
According to PoliticsHome, the policy outlines five key measures a future Green-led government would pursue to phase out private landlords. These include introducing rent controls, scrapping the Right to Buy scheme, applying business rates to short-term lets such as Airbnbs, and imposing double council tax on long-term empty properties.
The move marks a bold shift in housing policy, positioning the Greens as one of the most radical parties on property reform in the UK.
Carla Denyer, Green MP for Bristol Central, said: “It [the policy] address the housing crisis, empowers tenants and improves their wellbeing. It contains a range of policies which, over time, would reduce the proportion of the housing market that is privately rented, and increase the proportion of socially rented homes.
“The policies, many of which were contained in our 2024 manifesto, include the introduction of rent controls and giving councils powers to buy properties when landlords sell,” she said.
Denyer added: “The motion also calls for the mass building of council homes, which was another manifesto commitment, and adds a proposal for a state-owned housing manufacturer to support these efforts and innovate on housing design and manufacture.”
