Property Professionals respond to Senedd White Paper on Adequate Housing, Fair Rents and Affordability
The Welsh Government has this week launched its highly anticipated white paper on ‘Securing a path towards Adequate Housing, including Fair Rents and Affordability’.
The latest proposals represent a significant effort to reform the rental sector in Wales, focusing primarily on private rental accommodations. These proposals address several key areas, such as rental data collection, ensuring homes are habitable, accommodating pets, and considering changes to Land Transaction Tax.
The anticipated goals of these reforms include:
- Improving life expectancy
- Increasing disposable household income
- Reducing poverty and material deprivation
- Enhancing feelings of safety
- Boosting satisfaction and involvement in local communities
- Ensuring hazard-free homes
- Promoting energy efficiency in housing
- Preventing homelessness
- Managing housing costs
Key points included in the White Paper are:
- Enhancing rent data by requiring landlords and/or agents to report rent information to Rent Smart Wales.
- Creating a spatial rent map to display local rent data.
- Establishing standards to verify a property’s habitability.
- Introducing measures to support renters with pets.
- Providing guidance on the use of rent guarantors.
- Examining the potential for relief on higher residential rates under the Land Transaction Tax (LTT) for properties participating in the Welsh Government’s Leasing Scheme Wales.
Additionally, the paper proposes that landlords must confirm that none of the 29 issues listed under ‘Fitness for Homes for Human Habitation’—including dampness, mold, extreme thermal discomfort, overcrowding, building material risks, and safety hazards—are present in their properties.
Commenting on the launch of the White Paper, Sam Rees, Senior Public Affairs Officer at RICS, said:
“The Welsh Government’s planned changes build on several years of reform in the private rental sector.
“We fully support the need for enhanced rental data collection to inform evidence-based decision-making. The government addresses rent controls in the paper, and we are pleased they recognise that without comprehensive data and addressing broader housing supply challenges, rent controls, though an appealing idea for tenants are often ineffective.
“The proposals for landlords to self-certify homes as fit for human habitation place a stronger emphasis on regular property condition assessments. RICS is committed to supporting this initiative by developing the necessary standards, like the work in England to expand the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector. However, greater support and resources from both government and industry will be necessary to meet these 29 conditions for habitation fitness.
“Crucially, we must ensure that these reforms do not worsen the existing challenges in the Welsh private rental sector. The RICS Residential Market Survey consistently shows that rent demand continues to outpace supply in Wales. To address this, we need to provide landlords with the confidence to stay in the market, incentivise the creation of much-needed rental and affordable housing, and improve the overall quality of homes for tenants.”
RICS will be responding to the White Paper consultation which closes 31 January 2025. If you would like to be involved in shaping our response, please email Sam Rees on srees@rics.org
Tim Thomas, Policy and Campaigns Officer at Propertymark, said:
“Propertymark welcomes the direction of the White Paper on securing a path towards Adequate Housing, including Fair Rents and Affordability. We have extensively engaged with the Welsh Government and are pleased they have listened to our concerns by not implementing rent controls in Wales.
“We also welcome the acknowledgement that localised data sources must improve to make better evidence-based policy decisions for the Private Rented Sector across Wales. This will ensure policy makers have a better understanding of market rents and affordability challenges.
“Fundamentally, we believe that affordability will be achieved by positively stimulating the supply of property via a pro-growth taxation policy. Integral to the aims of housing adequacy is a professional, well-regulated, and responsive sector, and we will continue to engage with the Welsh Government by demonstrating the professional standards of property agents amongst our membership.”