So for an anecdote, after living in one rented house for many years, I had to move. Renting again would have cost me double what I was paying prior to moving for a lesser property, because the private landlord had only increased rent twice in a decade and both times below the maximum increase that the rent controls would have allowed.

Luckily, I was in a position to buy in a commuter town, where I got much more house for a mortgage repayment that is 30% less than my already substantially below average previous rent. Also while the house is larger, my energy bills have been lower so far due to it being a century newer and therefore massively more efficient to heat.