Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called an emergency private renting summit today, urging the government to protect renters increasingly at risk of losing their homes.

The summit included private renters, charities, advocacy groups and politicians.

This comes following a new YouGov poll, which found that 40% of Londoners think they will struggle to meet rent payments in the next six months.

Khan says the average advertised London rent has hit £2,343 a month – more than double other parts of the country.

“London’s private renters are facing a triple whammy with rising rents, bills, and the cost of household essentials putting a major strain on their finances. Ministers must take this crisis seriously and act now,” he adds.

The Mayor of London has also urged the government to double the notice periods for private rental evictions to four months.

Khan comments: “Our demands to ministers are simple: implement your long-promised renters reform legislation and take action now to make rents more affordable for Londoners, using all powers at the government’s disposal.”

“As we continue working to build a better, fairer London for everyone, it’s vital that we stand up for renters in our city and find common ground on the action that needs to be taken to support them through the cost-of-living crisis, pay their rent and keep their homes.”

However, the National Residential Landlords Association chief executive Ben Beadle says: “It is disappointing in the extreme that the Mayor of London feels he can solve the challenges faced in the capital’s rental market without any input from those who actually provide the homes.”

“The stark and simple reality is that whilst the demand for private rented housing in London continues to increase, the supply of such homes is falling.  This is a direct consequence of government policy aimed at shrinking the size of the sector, along with rhetoric from the mayor that suggests private landlords are simply a problem to be managed.”

“If the mayor wants to address the cost pressures faced by households across London, he needs to focus on boosting the number of homes available. Anything else would merely be tinkering with the symptoms of the challenges in the rental market, without tackling the root cause of them.”