Welsh First Minister rejects calls for a rent freeze – but critics want more

Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, has rejected the idea of implementing a rent freeze in the country.

That’s despite his government launching a consultation on introducing rent controls in Wales earlier this month.

This week, Mr Drakeford was asked by Peredur Owen Griffiths, a Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd, about his government’s stance on a potential rent freeze in the private rented sector (PRS).

Mr Griffiths pointed to the precedent set by the Scottish National Party in Scotland, which passed legislation enforcing such a freeze.

He argued that Welsh tenants deserved similar stability and protection.

A rent freeze is a ‘blunt instrument’

However, Mr Drakeford responded to the question by saying a rent freeze is a ‘blunt instrument’ with ‘many unintended consequences’.

He said: “We know in Scotland that it has led to a reduction in properties available for rent, because people who have bought properties on a buy-to-let basis themselves face mortgages that have now gone up significantly.

“The Bank of England estimates that it will take a 20% rise in private sector rents simply to cover the additional costs that buy-to-let landlords now incur.

“Even the Scottish scheme is not a rent freeze for everybody; it is a rent freeze for some people, in some circumstances.”

‘Wales is in the middle of a housing crisis ‘

But Mr Drakeford’s stance on rent freezes for tenants doesn’t go far enough and Conservative assembly member, Janet Finch-Saunders, told Property118: “Wales is in the middle of a housing crisis caused by Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru.

“At a time when 3,000 children are in temporary accommodation, and private landlords are giving up on the private let sector in Wales, the Welsh Government needs to take measures to not only to keep existing landlords in the market but encourage others to invest.

“The rent freeze in Scotland has been a disaster, with the First Minister rightly noting that it has led to a reduction in properties available for rent.”

‘Made the housing crisis even worse’

She added: “Clearly the nationalist Plaid Cymru proposal would have made the housing crisis even worse.

“Thankfully, it has been rejected, but it is now necessary to start undoing the major damage already caused.

“The evidence is clear that the Renting Homes (Wales) Act has resulted in a tsunami of evictions and landlords giving up.

“The legislation must be scrapped, and the Welsh Government should issue a formal apology for creating a bad law that has resulted in residents living in hotel rooms instead of homes.”

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