P-04-669 Repeal the Rent Smart Wales Legislation– Petitioner to the Committee. 23.01.16

Dear Committee

I have read the Minister letter in response to the petition and I’m startled by the lack of understanding as to workings and needs of the private rental market.

I would like to know which interested parties have been consulted and what weight  has be allocated to their input , equally has any of the more rational options been listen to.

There is already ample legalisation to protect tenant. All that is needed is for it to be enforce. Rather than further costly bureaucracy, why not simply make it compulsory for all   letting agents to be a member of one of the address schemes already in place. Then if they fall foul of their requirements and are expelled they will legally be unable to continue to practice.

This costly licencing farce will lead only to the following;

Some landlords just giving up which will then lose valuable housing to the market

Some agents will stop practising reducing choice and competition in the market for landlords

Increasing costs for both landlords and agent which in turn will lead to higher rent (this is really going to help tenants isn’t it)

Actually encourage more landlord to go off line and join the ranks of the rogue landlords who already ignore the present rules anyway so are certainly not going to bother themselves with the new compulsory Welsh Government scheme. Who will then be able to offer their rents cheaper than those who comply.  As a result pushing hard up tenants to exactly the element you are supposedly trying to protect them from!

If the government were to be honest this expense sham is nothing to do with protecting tenant its more about building up a register of landlords to ensure their incomes are suitably taxed. If this is the case then surely there is a better way of achieving this goal?

I plead with the committee to revisit this legislation and have another think.

Yours Hopefully

Peter Lowarch

PARRY LOWARCH RESIDENTIAL