Welsh Government must take action to improve renters’ experiences

John Griffiths MS – Chair of the Local Government and Housing Committee

The current housing crisis is often discussed in the context of homeowners, but there is much less discussion of renters. Over a third of Welsh households rent their property and of those, a majority are private renters.

Today’s Local Government and Housing Committee report is not only an effort to
publicise the issues facing the 228,000 households in the private rented sector, it is an opportunity to urge the Welsh Government to listen and act on our recommendations.

No fault evictions

One of our main concerns is around the effect of no-fault evictions on tenants. In Wales, landlords must give tenants six months’ notice for eviction, but with demand for properties so high it can still be a struggle for many to secure a new home within that timescale.

Currently, the Renters’ Rights Bill is making its way through the House of Commons and this law proposes to end no-fault evictions in England. We certainly wouldn’t want to see tenants in Wales worse off than those in England, so we’re calling on the Welsh Government to keep an eye on this Bill’s progress and see what can be incorporated in Wales.

Barriers

We understand that there are practical barriers to banning a landlord from evicting a tenant and we understand that they should continue to have this right. However, a compromise could be a scheme that would enable a tenant facing no- fault eviction to retain the last two months’ rent of their tenancy as compensation for the financial and wellbeing impact of a forced move.

We’re asking the Welsh Government to consider the feasibility of such a scheme and to respond by April 2025 outlining if this could be introduced in Wales.

Supply, quality and affordability

During this inquiry, we heard countless examples of how hard it is to secure an affordable, good quality home to rent. With demand for property outstripping supply, the most effective way to alleviate the pressure on the rental sector is to increase the overall supply of social homes. Although work is underway to do this, it can’t happen overnight, and all homes should be of suitable quality.

Unfortunately, we heard concerning stories about tenants in the private rented sector being afraid to complain about poor conditions for fear of eviction or rent increases to cover the cost of remediation work. This shouldn’t be the case.

One suggestion put to us was the introduction of a ‘property MOT’ to assess whether a property is fit for human habitation. We see the benefits of this and would like the Welsh Government and Rent Smart Wales to develop a scheme and consider the practicalities of how this could be implemented.

Discrimination

One of the most concerning things the Committee heard was how discrimination is
still a problem facing many people in the private rented sector. Some landlords discriminate against potential tenants who claim benefits, have children, are homeless, are moving from supported housing or due to their age, race or sexual orientation.

A 2022 survey by Shelter Cymru showed that 37 per cent of landlords in Wales say they do not, or prefer not to let to tenants on benefits. This is unacceptable. The private rented sector should be equally available to everyone who uses it.

The Renters’ Rights Bill includes proposals to ban discrimination against tenants on benefits and/or with children, and also gives the power for Welsh Ministers to bring forward further measures to protect tenants from discrimination.

As a Committee, we will be considering whether these proposals are the most
appropriate way of ending discrimination against Welsh tenants and will be reporting by the end of the year.

The root of this discrimination, however, is the dire lack of overall housing supply. With many people chasing the same property, this empowers some unscrupulous landlords to discriminate against people by choosing tenants who they see as being more ‘favourable’ instead.

‘No-pets’ policies

High numbers of rental properties in Wales are advertised as not allowing pets.
Having to give up a pet in order to move in to a new property is very traumatic and we feel strongly that tenants should not be put into such a situation.
This discrimination is real and needs to be addressed. As long as a property is
suitable, tenants should not be prevented from having pets. Many landlords told us that fear of damage to the property was the overriding reason for choosing not to rent to someone with a pet.

But we heard compelling evidence that damage from pets is often less than
anticipated and that landlords can make more money by renting to pet owners as
they are likely to stay in a property for longer. There are also various options around pet insurance and flexible deposits in order to provide greater assurances to landlords.

We’re calling on the Welsh Government to urgently outline how it intends to extend tenants’ rights to have a pet. This could require legislation being passed in the Senedd, but until that can happen, the Welsh Government and Rent Smart Wales should undertake a myth-busting campaign with landlords to eliminate discrimination against pet owners.

Regulation of the sector

For something as important as housing, regulation is crucial. But limited resources are having a detrimental impact on local authorities’ ability to
undertake enforcement activities, with the number of inspections last year lower than pre-pandemic.

We need the Welsh Government to consider how to boost this inspection capacity by addressing the long-term recruitment shortages in environmental health.
Until this happens, people will continue to be at the mercy of rogue landlords renting out sub-par accommodation.

Stepping up supply

Ensuring that everyone in Wales has a safe place to call home is something we all aspire to; not having this can have a detrimental impact on people’s lives in many ways. We know that owning a home is currently out of reach for many people, and with demand for social housing far exceeding the supply, the private rented sector plays a crucial role in providing homes.

Whilst today’s report focusses on that sector, many of the issues described can be solved by increasing the number of homes being built in Wales. This Committee will continue calling on the Welsh Government to increase the overall supply of houses, but while this long-term work is underway, it’s crucial for them to listen to our recommendations and take immediate action to improve renters’ experiences.