Welsh Elections: NRLA launches manifesto
Targeted investment and better enforcement are key pillars of our new manifesto published this week ahead of the Welsh elections this spring.
With Wales set to go to the polls on 7 May 2026, the document outlines calls for:
• Stability: Meaning there must be no further changes to tenure legislation that might deter investment and deepen the supply crisis.
• Targeted investment in standards: We argue efforts to improve the private rented sector (PRS) and eradicate unsafe practices are doomed to failure if enforcement is not properly resourced and improvements to Rent Smart Wales (RSW) to better support the sector.
• Measures to tackle fuel poverty: With around one in four households in Wales living in fuel poverty, barriers to improving the energy efficiency of stock must be removed, using the tax system to incentivise rather than penalise. You can read more about this week’s Westminster announcement on fuel poverty here.
The manifesto was developed based on your feedback, and we are arguing that whoever is successful on polling day must prioritise the creation of a coherent package of policies designed to support the sector and help renters to access the quality homes they need.
This in turn will increase the number of available high quality rental properties and to help meet housing demand in all parts of Wales, where, since the last Senedd election Wales, as a whole, has lost over 1,000 private rented sector homes.
The introduction of the Renting Homes Wales Act in 2022 had a huge impact on the sector, with confidence levels only just starting to recover, which is why we are arguing for a period of stability to allow the sector to get onto a level footing again.
We are also campaigning for greater consistency in standards, following a range of issues with Rent Smart Wales (RSW) and concerns over whether it is meeting its objective to uphold housing standards in the Welsh PRS.
After engagement with you, tenants in Wales and our on research work we know there are issues with accessing support, with significant regional variation in terms of the quality of service provided, which needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency.
We are also using the calling on the Welsh Government to make good on the promise to introduce a Welsh Housing Survey. As we have argued, too much policy making has been based on assumptions and poor-quality data, or no data at all.
Making housing a priority
Launching the manifesto, Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA said: “Nothing is more important than having a safe, secure place to live, so we are calling on the parties, standing in May, to make housing their top priority.
“Our manifesto is clear: Wales needs policies designed to build a better and thriving housing environment for all.
“Plans that do not encourage investment, overregulate or exclude the needs of responsible landlords to provide much needed housing for renters are doomed to fail."
What happens next?
With our key priorities for the next Welsh Government finalised, the work now starts on engaging with political parties, Welsh Government officials and other key organisations to help build support for our policy proposals.
More information
If you’d like to read the NRLA’s Wales Manifesto in full, click here.
To watch a video explaining more about our calls click the link below.
