11:59 AM, 13th June 2024, About 5 months ago 4
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Plaid Cymru pledges to bring fairness to the private rented sector by introducing rent controls.
The party’s manifesto plans to bring in the Right to Adequate Housing Bill which they claim will help provide safe and affordable homes.
Other policies include an ambition to build more social homes and a crackdown on holiday lets.
Plaid Cymru says they are committed to making housing more affordable by introducing the Right to Adequate Housing Bill.
The manifesto says: “Within the private rental sector, we believe in a system of fair rents and rent control so that they are affordable to local people on local incomes, and that individuals and families are not priced out of the area where they currently live.
“Our proposed Right to Adequate Housing Bill in Wales would include powers to introduce rent controls and other market interventions to make housing more affordable.”
The Right to Adequate Housing Bill has been stalled for many years since it was first promised in 2019.
The Welsh government launched a green paper call for evidence for the housing bill and promised to publish a white paper in the summer of 2024.
Plaid Cymru also promises to build more social housing, however, they do not give a figure on how many will be built.
The manifesto said: “Wales needs to ensure that the supply of housing meets community needs.
“This requires a significant expansion in the amount of social and municipal housing stock, a policy that would help to tackle private rental sector rent rises.
“In government in Wales, Plaid Cymru will develop a plan to deliver this significant expansion to meet local housing needs in all parts of the country, accessing a mixture of public and private funding streams and working with communities to provide the correct mix of housing across Wales.”
The Local Housing Rate Allowance is the amount of rent which can be provided to help meet housing costs.
Plaid Cymru promises to keep the local housing rate allowance (LHA) at the 30th percentile of market rents.
The manifesto explains: “Since changes to the Local Housing Rate Allowance were introduced, rental costs have substantially increased, meaning that renters are unable to cover their costs, with knock on effects on sustainable tenancies and rising levels of homelessness.
“Plaid Cymru will ensure that the LHA is retained at the 30th percentile of market rents in each Broad Market Rental Area.
“In line, with the devolution of housing which already exists, the Broad Market Rental Area mechanism should be devolved to Wales, as housing already is a devolved area.
Another manifesto pledge includes a crackdown on second homes. The Welsh government have previously introduced a cap on the number of second and holiday homes within a community.
The party is also looking to “close loopholes” in which holiday homes pose as lettings businesses.
The manifesto said: “Many local authorities in Wales have now introduced a council tax premium on second homes, where the additional funds raised are put towards development of social housing for local residents.
“We are also looking to close loopholes which allow holiday homes to pretend to be legitimate lettings businesses, so that we can ensure that genuine self-catered accommodation businesses can be protected.”
Beaver
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Sign Up13:52 PM, 13th June 2024, About 5 months ago
More on rent controls....?
So that's Plaid Cymru joining the rent-control bandwagon and failing to learn the lessons of the failed SNP experiment in Scotland and elsewhere.
I'm presently not invested in residential property in Wales. But I think if I lived in Wales and still wanted to invest in residential property this kind of thing would make me more inclined to invest in England.
I am sympathetic to the plight of local people in coastal communities who have nowhere to live. (The poorest are actually in England, not in Scotland or Wales). But where is that investment going to come from? Housing is a devolved issue.
Liam
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Sign Up15:55 PM, 13th June 2024, About 5 months ago
I look forward to seeing how they make rent controls work given that everyone who's tried in the last 100 years have failed. It's going to make excellent history.
Beaver
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Sign Up16:51 PM, 13th June 2024, About 5 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Liam at 13/06/2024 - 15:55
One of the problems with politicians is that they don't learn the lessons of history. Another is that in the run up to elections they are mostly thinking short-term. A lot of the electorate probably doesn't even know that private rented property is already taxed in a way that is punitive in comparison to other businesses or investments. Really left-wing parties don't care of course because they don't believe in private ownership anyway and they depend upon having an electorate that (a) is prepared to give up its freedom and (b) in the long-term becomes ever more dependent upon government.
At least during election season parties do show their true colours....if you can see through the c**p that they are telling the electorate.
graham mcauley
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Sign Up21:36 PM, 13th June 2024, About 5 months ago
I would not discuss or worry about anything Plaid come up with, I don't think they will ever be in power in Wales, only way they are relevant is by siding with whoever will have them, and as they have just broken away from Labour I don't know what they will do