Rent controls still on the agenda in Wales
The Welsh Government is ‘actively exploring different measures for regulating increases in rent’ in the private rented sector, it confirmed last week.
Welsh First Minister, Rhun ap Iorwerth, made the comments when questioned by Members of the Senedd on protecting renters.
His comments came a week before the Plaid Cymru administration published its ‘programme for government’, setting out its priorities for the next four years.
Fair rents
We’ve previously explored the electoral mathematics of the current Senedd. The Plaid Cymru 2026 election manifesto set out an explicit commitment to ‘fair rent-setting’ by restricting annual rent increases to ‘the lower of wage growth or consumer price index inflation’ or an alternative set benchmark.
But the reality following election day was a minority government, which needs the support of other parties to pass its legislation.
Plaid’s programme for government still makes the commitment to ‘fair rents’ – but is less clear about exactly what this means.
At a UK-level, Andy Burnham’s Labour Government has been unequivocal about its opposition to rent controls.
The question is: will Welsh Labour, which ruled out rent controls whilst in government, continue its opposition over the next four years, too?
The First Minister stated the Government would need to undertake “considerable policy development, evidence gathering and cross-party and cross-sector engagement” before introducing any measures – and plans to do so as part of a second phase of work.
We will, of course, continue to evidence strongly why rent controls would be a disaster for renters and the private rented sector.
Strengthening rights for renters
Plaid also committed in their manifesto to ending no-fault evictions, restricting rental ‘bidding wars’, and introducing a legal right to request a pet – mirroring changes under the Renters’ Rights Act in England.
During First Minister’s Questions last week, ap Iorwerth said that the Government will bring forward legislation to protect renters and ‘[tackle] poor landlords’ in the first phase of its legislative programme.
As part of this, Plaid’s manifesto set out plans to strengthen enforcement by expanding the regulatory role of Rent Smart Wales. Exactly what this means we are yet to hear, but the First Minister’s response suggests this will be an early priority for the new government.
Representing your voice
Alongside legislative plans, the Welsh Government also needs to pass its budget – something it failed to do before the Senedd broke for the summer recess.
This week we submitted our formal response to its proposals, calling for measures to tackle the acute housing crisis in Wales.
We were also in Cardiff this week to meet with members of the Senedd and plan upcoming events to raise the profile of our campaign asks with policymakers.
The private rented sector supplies more than one in ten homes in Wales and plays an important part in providing the people of Wales with the homes they need.
As the Welsh Government implements its agenda, we will continue to engage and advocate for policies that ensure that your voice is heard by the decision-makers who matter.
