North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to increase rental housing supply and urged them not to introduce counterproductive rent controls.
Speaking in this afternoon’s ‘Debate on a Member's Legislative Proposal - A Bill on the right to adequate housing’, Mr Isherwood said that the right to decent housing has been a longstanding Welsh Conservative Policy.
He stressed that Governments should be working with good landlords rather than driving them out of the market, highlighting problems in Scotland following the introduction of rent controls there.
He said:
“Since 2019, the Back the Bill coalition has campaigned for the incorporation of the right to adequate housing in Wales. Comprising Shelter Cymru, Tai Pawb and The Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru, they believe the only way to resolve Wales’ housing emergency is to fundamentally change how we think about homes, starting with seeing them as a right. They recognise the need to increase the importance of homes on the political agenda, delivering a turbocharged, long-term strategy. They commissioned Alma Economics to undertake independent research, which found that implementing the right to adequate housing will save public money in Wales.
He added:
“As Alma Economics stated: ‘There’s a very strong evidence base behind an increase in wellbeing associated with an increase in housing adequacy’. There are cost savings to local authorities from ending homelessness, and some reduced needs for social care. There are savings to NHS Wales. There are savings to the criminal justice system. There is additional economic activity … with improved labour market outcomes—higher productivity. And there is the value of new housing created’.
“We therefore support proposals for the right to adequate housing, as we do for regular assessments of housing needs and conditions, with targets set to reduce unmet housing needs and improve conditions. The motion also mentions fair rental practices and, currently, both Landlords and tenants can apply for a ‘fair rent’ on a regulated or secure tenancy. However, if this refers instead to rent controls, there is a considerable body of independent evidence demonstrating that rent controls do not work in achieving their desired result, and instead create barriers to mobility, reduce the supply of homes and lead to higher rents than may have otherwise occurred.
“After the introduction of Rent Controls in Scotland in 2022, average rents on new tenancies increased, rising by nearly 14% in the last year as rents on existing tenancies were frozen and then capped, and there has also been a reduction of nearly 20% in the availability of private rented properties in Scotland over the same period.
“Rather than dealing with the symptoms, the Welsh Government therefore needs to take action to increase rental housing supply, the shortage of which is the primary reason why rental prices have increased, working with good landlords rather than driving them out of the market. Without assurance, I will therefore be abstaining on this motion.”
Speaking afterwards, Mr. Isherwood said:
“This is a ‘made in Wales’ housing emergency. The number of new homes in Wales completed by Social Landlords was slashed after Conservative UK Government ended in 1997, from an annual average of over 2,600 to just 785 between 1997 and 2010, and 1,047 since. Although we therefore need to boost the number of rented homes to meet demand in Wales in the short to medium-term, polling research also found that landlords in Wales are leaving the market or reducing the number of properties they let out, further restricting supply”.
