Green party leader Zack Polanski will set out plans for a three-year emergency brake on rent hikes to give renters “breathing space”.

The move would limit rises to whichever is lowest between Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation, wage growth or 2% – echoing existing metrics for pensions, which currently increase by the highest of either inflation, wage growth or 2.5%.

Under the proposal, landlords would not be able to put up rents by more than the lowest of the three measures, which the Greens say would protect tenants from being forced out by sudden rent hikes.

Addressing delegates at the Green party conference in Brighton on Friday, Polanski will also set out plans for a “fair rents guarantee” that would keep rents “fair and affordable” once the emergency brake expires after three years.

The party says the temporary cap would give wages time to catch up with rents, which have risen faster than incomes.

“For too long, landlords have been able to hike prices way beyond wages,” Polanski is expected to say.

“That’s why today I’m calling for a three-year emergency brake on private rents. No rent rises above CPI, wage growth or 2% – whichever is lower. No sudden hikes. No evictions under the guise of rent rises. No more fear and uncertainty.”

Polanski will use his conference speech to highlight the impact of high rents on younger people and families, including people forced to remain in or return to their parents’ homes.

Carla Denyer, Green MP for Bristol Central, said the policy would provide a “much-needed reset” while the government develops a longer-term system of rent controls.

Average monthly rent in England is now £1,459, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in August. That’s more than half the median monthly salary of £2,657, which amounts to £1,887 in take-home pay.

The Green party says this weekend’s party conference in Brighton is its biggest ever, after membership tripled following Polanski’s election as leader just over a year ago.

On 1 May, the Labour governments’ Renters’ Rights Act came into force in England, putting an end to no-fault evictions, fixed-term contracts and bidding wars. The legislation was billed as the biggest overhaul to the private rental sector in a generation.

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