Welsh language campaigners urge MS to ‘realise her rhetoric’ by introducing a Property Act

In her statement in the Debating Chamber of the Senedd on Tuesday (12 March) on second homes and affordability, Julie James referred to the impact of the open housing market in her own village, fearing that her own children would not be able to afford to live there and that it would soon become a “ghost town”.

“Dysfunctional”

While discussing the housing crisis and the interventions in the open housing market that have already been implemented, the Minister said: “This is about trying to engineer backwards a sustainable community that’s been driven away by an unfettered investment market in property, because the UK has a very dysfunctional property market; we regard our homes as investments, which is mad, really.

“And it drives a set of behaviours that are not conducive to sustainable economies.”

She also said that all but two local authorities have introduced or are about to introduce council tax premiums on second homes, holiday accommodation or empty homes, and that plans by several planning authorities to introduce Article 4 Directive policies are “groundbreaking.”

“Harmful”

In response, Jeff Smith, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Sustainable Communities Group said: “It is clear from the Minister’s rhetoric that she understands the root of the housing crisis facing our communities: an unregulated housing market. She also has first-hand experience of its harmful effects.

“The solution, to ensure that houses are treated primarily as homes and that people can continue to live in their communities is to transform the housing market through legislation – a Property Act.

“Wales does not have to follow the same path as the rest of the United Kingdom in this policy area, which is clearly not working.

“This is why we are calling on the Minister, or her successor, to realise her rhetoric and introduce a Property Act that would get to the root of the housing crisis which she has identified.”

Cymdeithas yr Iaith will be holding a ‘Wales Not For Sale’ rally in Blaenau Ffestiniog on 4 May. Everyone present will be invited to sign a “Property Act – Nothing Less” statement.

Jeff Smith added: “The Government sees and understands the problem, but to ensure action we are calling on people from all parts of Wales to come to Blaenau Ffestiniog to raise their voice for our communities and demand nothing less than a Property Act.