Generation Rent

Submission to the Senedd Local Government and Housing Committee

Priorities for the Sixth Senedd and 2021-22

17 September 2021

Generation Rent welcomes the opportunity to submit its views on the committee’s priorities in the next twelve months and the duration of the Sixth Senedd.

Generation Rent is the national voice of private renters in the UK, campaigning for safe, secure and affordable homes. We published a set of policy demands for candidates standing in the Senedd elections in April 2021, including:

· An end to ‘no fault’ evictions

· More powers given to councils to tackle landlords who rent out unsafe homes

· Tougher penalties for landlords who break the law

· Enabling renters to claim back rent from negligent landlords 

· Improving Rent Smart Wales to give renters more information about their home

Further information is available at this link: https://www.generationrent.org/making_homes_safe_and_secure_in_wales

We believe the committee should pursue the following areas of inquiry. Of the three areas, the impact of the pandemic is possibly the most pressing.

1. Regulation of the private rented sector

How effective has recent legislation been in giving private tenants greater security and safer homes? Will tenants in Wales face the least protection from eviction in Western Europe once Westminster abolishes no-fault evictions in England? What impact has Rent Smart Wales had on complaints about rented homes, tenant satisfaction and local government enforcement? Do renters have the legal tools and support they need to exercise their rights to a safe and secure home? How can regulation of the Welsh private rental market be used to drive the retrofitting of housing?

2. Impact of the pandemic

What impact have the Covid Pandemic and associated government interventions had on renters’ financial situation? Have the Welsh government’s grant and loans schemes improved their position in relation to tenants in the rest of the UK and prevented homelessness?

3. Affordability of housing

How many people struggle with the cost of their housing, and what is driving this? How do the adequacy of the benefits system, rise of holiday homes, and lack of new supply contribute to this? Are the government’s proposals on holiday homes sufficient to realign incentives for landlords, and how can Rent Smart Wales be integrated with regulation of self-catering accommodation?