Downing Street has dismissed the idea of a freeze on private sector rents even as Rachel Reeves left the door open to such a move, after the Guardian revealed the chancellor has been considering it as an option to cut the cost of living. A No 10 spokesperson said on Tuesday that freezing private sector rents was “not the approach we will be taking” after sources told the Guardian it was Reeves’s preferred solution for dealing with a spike in housing costs in the wake of the Iran war. They added: “We have no plans to implement this. Our focus remains on cutting bills and backing renters alongside lower energy prices.” Yuan Yang, a Labour MP and economist, asked Rachel Reeves about the rent freeze idea.…