The Labour leader wants three-year deals to become the norm for tenants and has also announced plans to cap rent rises and axe letting agent fees.
Long-term tenancies are already offered in other European countries, and these plans would see tenancies start with a six month probation period followed by an automatic two-and-a-half-year extension if the probabtion was passed. Landlords would only be able to terminate tenancies in certain cases, such as in the case of arrears or breaches of tenancy agreements.
His plans to cap rent rises mean that landlords would be able to set rents based on market value but will be prevented from making excessive increases. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors is currently examining what an appropriate benchmark might be.
Under the new rules, letting agents would have to charge any fees for tenancy agreements to landlords rather than tenants.
Ed Miliband said:
"We need to deal with the terrible insecurity of Britain's private rental market as well. Many tenancies last just six months with families at risk of being thrown out after that with just two months' notice with no reason.
"Some are told to accept huge rent rises or face eviction. It breeds instability and that is bad for tenants, bad for families, bad for landlords, and bad for our society.
"So today I can announce, the next Labour government will legislate to make three-year tenancies the standard in the British private rented sector to giving people who rent the certainty they need. These new longer-term tenancies will limit the amount that rents can rise by each year too - so landlords know what they can expect each year and tenants can't be surprised by rents that go through the roof."
