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Welsh Government recently published a Green Paper: A call for evidence on securing a path towards Adequate Housing – including Fair Rents and Affordability.
Of the two elements of the proposals, it will be the fair rent that will be of the greater concern to landlords in Wales, with it ultimately meaning rent controls. This will be viewed by many as another stick to bash the Private Rented Sector with after increasingly punitive taxation such as Section 24 and land transaction tax changes. Not to mention the recent costs for compliance with the Renting Homes (Wales) Act, additional fitness for human habitation improvements and net zero retrofitting to achieve higher EPCs ratings. This comes at a time when costs across the board are rising for everyone, and interest rates have increased for the 14th consecutive time since December 2021.
Landlord bodies such as NRLA and Propertymark have been quite clear in their opposition to any type of rent control being proposed. It is also widely recognised that further interference in the rental market of this type will lead to more landlords leaving the market, reducing available housing, and therefore worsening the housing crisis by putting those in need further away from a home.
A Green Paper is only a consultation period and after attending a Welsh Government Forum on the topic in late July, it is worth noting that the head of the private sector housing policy team did say that no changes as a result of the consultation should be made until 2026.
In the past the private rented sector has let itself down for not having one cohesive voice which has led to the changes such as the Renting Homes (Wales) Act. We strongly encourage all landlords to respond to the consultation and explain how the proposals would affect them.
The link to the webpage is below. The consultation closes on September 15th 2023. Be warned, it requires a pot of tea….or stiff drink.
https://www.gov.wales/securing-path-towards-adequate-housing-including-fair-rents-and-affordability
