, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
We think that that wasn’t used very much at all—very rarely. We had about six applications a year, so it was not very effective, really. And the applications could only be made where the tenancy agreement did not include a rent increase term. So, all new…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
It hasn’t really worked in Scotland, I’m afraid. We’ve got some evidence, although it’s early days for them, to be fair, so we’ll want to monitor that for a longer time period. But, so far, the evidence is that it’s not having the desired effect. It is one of…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
We put a Green Paper out earlier in the year, a call for evidence on both the right to adequate housing and rent control policies, which is what you're talking about there. That will be followed by a White Paper in the summer—is that what we're saying—of this…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
You too.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Well, 'no' is the answer to that, but we've been working with them to make sure that that opportunity is there. One of the things the homelessness Bill is going to do, and this is why we're doing the homelessness Bill, is—. The way that the allocations policy…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
We already enable that. I have to say, I've got three examples in my own patch where a family has approached us for help, and I've actually managed to get the local authority or a local RSL to buy with them in situ. We say that all the time, Shelter gives…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
I mean, it's certainly something we could look at. I am very keen to make sure that the Act embeds properly. We don't yet have all of the stats; it just hasn't been in place long enough, really. So, in Wales, tenants have the most protection from eviction of…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
A year. Is it a year? There's a long period of time in which they are then prohibited from evicting the tenant because they've indulged in this practice, so it's pretty draconic. So, we just need to get the tenants to understand their rights enough to enforce…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
I'm really happy to explore things like a property MOT and stuff, but, for us, it's always about whether that—. Does that add sufficient clarity for the tenant, and is it enforceable? So, this point that has been made to me today about, 'Does the tenant feel…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes. So, the renting homes Act includes all of the things that you'd expect as fit for human habitation. So, they have to have electrical certificates, carbon monoxide, water quality—you know, all of that stuff. So, it's all of the stuff. I mean, it isn't…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Well, I mean, we sort of do that. They have to comply with the renting homes Act. Effectively, when you go through the training to become a landlord on Rent Smart Wales, you are effectively doing that; you are saying, 'I have done the training, I understand…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
And also, part of the WHQS—it's what we did for the first iteration of it as well—it's an economic development opportunity too. So, we overskill the workforce, making a market for the private rented sector and for homes in private ownership. Because…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
So, we're very keen to make sure that tenants can take advantage of any of the schemes that we have—the Warm Homes scheme, for example—and we advertise that to both landlords and tenants. The Warm Homes scheme improves the energy efficiency of the home, so…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
So, we've got the stats on the number of landlords, but also the number of properties, and that's an interesting correlation as well.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Well, yes, a bit, but not as much as you'd expect. The figures are quite interesting, aren't they?
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
So, the new protections are bedding in, and we had a tail-end of the previous regime going through. So, as the Act beds in, it becomes more and more difficult to evict people, the notice periods are much longer, people have more redress to advice, and so on…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Well, because we think the renting homes Act is bedding in.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
No, we don't have a timeline for when that might happen. For quite a long time, we thought that the UK Government was going to uplift the quality standards for the private rented sector and, unfortunately, they've reneged at the last minute on that. So, they…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
I'm not aware of any universities in Wales that have bought a property to rent to the students. Almost all of them have either retrofitted buildings they already have—so, Cardiff and Swansea universities, for example, have done quite a bit of retrofitting—or…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes, indeed. I should say, obviously, my own constituency has an extremely large student population in it with two big universities, and we’ve had quite extensive conversations with the university local authorities as well, as with the universities…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
We've seen some build-to-rent. It's not huge in Wales, to be honest. It's a lot less huge than it has become in England. We have seen some build-to-rent in Cardiff. Cardiff attracts young professional people who want to be mobile and so on. Build-to-rents…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes, and obviously I'm now the local government Minister as well, which I wasn’t before, and so it’s very high on my agenda to make sure that they all sign up. So ,I will be exploring with the ones that haven’t what exactly it is that’s stopping them. And…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes, I think so. We had to get used to it ourselves. Actually, we've concentrated a lot on making sure that all the local authorities come into the scheme, because they didn't all. So, we've been working with the local authorities to make sure that they're…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
The local housing allowance is the main barrier—the housing maintenance allowance, sorry. It's about to go up for the first time. I think it's just gone up, hasn't it, at the beginning of this financial year? That's the first time in several years. Even at…
