Blog: Minister joins NRLA at Shelter Cymru conference
Climate change minister Julie James addressed the Shelter Cymru conference this week, with the NRLA also in attendance to discuss the vital role PRS landlords play in providing homes to rent. Douglas Haig, the NRLA’s non-executive director with special responsibility for Wales addressed delegates and spoke to the Minister about support needed to encourage landlords with homes in Wales to stay in the market and continue to invest.
Tackling homelessness and supporting young people to live independently were at the top of the agenda of this year’s Shelter Cymru, conference, with the NRLA invited to take part on the back of its work on the Homelessness Advisory Board.
As part of a panel, the association discussed the benefits of shared accommodation when it comes to housing younger people, particularly those who are vulnerable and on - or partially on - benefits.
Shared accommodation is a big part of the PRS and on the whole works very well; yet is something that has historically been shunned by local authorities and housing associations when it comes to housing young people.
When questioned about this, they have always said it is too difficult to manage and not something they have experience of dealing with. Shelter approached the NRLA to challenge this perception and explore how access to shared accommodation within the PRS could be improved.
This included discussions on the incentives or support landlords need to provide it, and how to dispel preconceptions of tenants accessing accommodation via these routes. Also up for discussion, was the help landlords would need, should the tenancy go wrong.
It was a very positive, solutions-focussed discussion between the NRLA, Shelter and representatives of housing association Pobl and Welsh homelessness charity Llamau.
Pobl for example is already running a project bringing young people together to share properties, offering high levels of support when it comes to maintaining the tenancy. Despite the success of the programme to date it is experiencing difficulties in getting housing associations to put homes forward. It’s a great project but very much in its infancy.
Supply crisis
Julie James MS, the minister for climate change, whose responsibilities include PRS housing and homelessness also addressed the conference.
In her speech she expressed her desire to see both the social and private rented sector grow and the NRLA asked, with that in mind, what she plans to do to incentivise the growth of the PRS and address the ever-growing supply crisis in Wales caused both by landlords selling up or moving into the lucrative holiday let sector. This is much less regulated than the PRS and, currently, more favourably taxed.
Both are already having an impact on options within the PRS, with the pool of potential homes for tenants drastically reduced.
She said the Welsh Government is bringing in a ‘swathe’ of measures to encourage investment, including changes to council tax, business rates and controls on second homes.
However, while support of this nature is welcome, the NRLA believes the changes announced do not offer any incentives for PRS landlords, they merely make the holiday lets sector less appealing. Landlords need more if they are to stay in the sector and continue to invest.
The Government is also encouraging landlords to use its social leasing scheme, yet until landlords are able to charge market rents through the scheme - and their lenders approve of it - it is never going to be popular with the vast majority.
Property is a business, an investment and something tangible that landlords can control. Handing over this control to councils in return for incredibly low Local Housing Allowance rents is never going to be an attractive prosect for most. This needs to change if ministers want to encourage more landlords to sign up.
Landlords are also concerned over current moves to explore the issue rent controls in Wales – another issue that was covered in depth at the conference.
We learnt recently that Cardiff had seen the highest rent increases in the UK, yet when we look at the reasons why, it all boils down to the crisis of supply. Rent controls will do nothing to address that, whereas support for landlords and the growth of the sector, will both improve tenant choice and lower rents, as landlords are forced to be more competitive.
Our key asks in Wales
The NRLA has a number of calls that it believes will support Welsh landlords. It wants:
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A period of stability around law making to give landlords time to understand the changes
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Encouragement and incentives for landlords to invest in properties and improve them
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A reduction on stamp duty where new properties are entering the market
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Funding for landlords to achieve minimum energy efficiency standards
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A Government assurance Rent Smart Wales is fit for purpose
If the minister is serious about sustaining and increasing the availability of PRS properties she and other Assembly Members need to sit down with groups like the NRLA to find out about landlords’ experiences on the ground, and how housing challenges can be addressed by resolving the underlying problems behind them.
We need to work together to resolve these structural problems and we will continue to lobby the Welsh Government to bring about positive change.
More information
For more information about our campaigns work in Wales visit our dedicated Welsh webpages here.
To read the NRLA’s Shadow White Paper, setting out its vision of a fairer, more inclusive PRS in Wales click here.
