Politicians should stop trying to portray the private rented sector (PRS) as a national crisis for tenants, an industry leader said this morning.

David Newnes, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move, both part of LSL, spoke out after his firm said that rents have barely gone up for months – and certainly by less than inflation.

In May, rents rose by 0.6% after staying unchanged in April, LSL reported today.

Newnes said: “Private renting is becoming cheaper in real terms. May’s latest sub-inflation rent rises will help over 9m tenants.

“To put that in context, this is more than a hundred times as many households as have benefitted from Help to Buy so far.

“These trends put the recent politicisation of the rental market in stark contrast to reality.

“Rents are not a single pound higher than they were in December – yet over the same six months, some politicians have portrayed the industry as facing some sort of crisis.

“A squeeze on living standards may well be the biggest challenge of our age. But rents are not the cause.

“In fact the greatest risk to today’s below-inflation rent rises is that political posturing could deter some landlords from the market.

“Rather than conjuring up a storm, politicians should be working constructively to ensure there are even more homes available to let.”

According to LSL’s latest report, rents annually have risen 1.1%. In London, the rent rise has been just 1% over the last year.

In absolute terms, the average rent in England and Wales has risen by £8 in the last 12 months, currently standing at £745 per month compared with £737 in May 2013.