Julie James, the Welsh Government’s Climate Change Minister, is proposing the changes due to the current pressures on the supply of local authority temporary accommodation to tackle homelessness.
In the wake of the pandemic and the current cost of living crises, 23,200 people in Wales have been supported into temporary accommodation since March 2020.
Concerns of lack of stock in the PRS
Propertymark recognises the importance of security of tenure, especially for vulnerable groups. In our Wales Manifesto, we called for the next Welsh Government to commit to a significant programme of building social housing to ensure that renting is more affordable and secure for renters.
However, we raised caution about the lack of supply in the Private Rented Sector and our concern that the proposal will drive more landlords to sell up and leave the sector.
Notice periods
Increasing notice periods could also lead to the possibility of increased costs being incurred on landlords from less flexibility to gain possession
This could mean not only reduced housing options for the most vulnerable but increased rents for those tenants who remain in the sector. With reduced housing options in the PRS, far from taking pressure off local authority stocks of temporary accommodation, local authorities will be under further pressure to rehouse a larger pool of people from reduced PRS supply.
Positive measures to boost supply
The opportunity to consult with the Welsh Government was taken to highlight positive measures they could adopt to boost supply in the PRS and to reduce pressure on local authorities.
Rather than punitive measures on letting agents and landlords, we called on the Welsh Government to work with the UK Government to reform Local Housing Allowance, scrap the Shared Accommodation Rate and ensure that Welsh local authorities allocate and use their full allocation of Discretionary Housing Payments to support renters who fall behind in rent and living costs.
