Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I'd like to thank Jenny Rathbone for bringing forward this debate today. Of course, I share her concern that everyone should have access to a good quality and affordable home, regardless of whether they buy or rent, regardless of whether their landlord is a social or private sector landlord, and regardless of where they live.

The private rented sector is playing, and, I think, will continue to play, an increasingly important part in delivering our housing agenda. It's been a growing market for a sustained period and now represents some 15 per cent of our housing stock. For people who rent, issues of affordability, quality and security of tenure are very real, and that's why this Government has placed great emphasis on ensuring that the private rented sector is well regulated and well managed, and we will continue to do so. In this way, we can help ensure that it offers a viable long-term solution for those people who choose or need to rent in the private rented sector. 

It's true that rent controls exist in many cities across the world. The question is: to what extent do they answer the particular issues that we face in Wales? Our Welsh housing market shares some but not all of the characteristics found elsewhere. The Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research's 2015 study into the effects of rent control on supply and markets tested the two main approaches to rent control. One approach is to provide an absolute control over the rent level. The other is to allow the landlord to set an initial market rent, but limit rent increases. The research reported on the potential for unintended consequences in both approaches, and discussed how important the response of landlords would be.

Shelter has recently responded to calls for rent control by pointing out that absolute approaches to rent control were causing harm to the very people we seek to assist. If we reduce the returns landlords can receive, we risk incentivising them to sell rather than rent their properties, and this might benefit middle earners who would like to see more homes available to buy, but, for those who can't afford to buy, the unintended consequence might be greater homelessness as a result of the private rented supply shrinking.

Similarly, we would not want to inadvertently discourage private landlords from investing in the quality of the homes they offer for rent. Welsh Government rent officers report that, in the small number of instances where rent controls remain under the rental Act, properties tend to suffer from a lack of modernisation and maintenance, and we shouldn't be surprised that the profit motive negatively affects the behaviour of landlords when they're constrained in this way.

It's also worth remembering that housing is about the interplay of a complex system, and one of the consequences of restricting rents in one area could be the reduction of local housing allowances, and therefore the level of benefit available to disadvantaged tenants. This is because of where the thirtieth percentile sits. 

So, limiting rent increases as a form of rent control might provide less of a disincentive to landlords. However, historically, inflation within the Welsh private rented sector has been lower than in England. Since 2012, the index of private housing rental prices shows that growth has been, on average, 1.5 percentage points lower. The evidence suggests that the Welsh market is not stretching rents far beyond inflation.

Our focus has been on accentuating renting as a quality housing option. We have made considerable strides over recent years towards bringing the private rented sector and tenure law up to date. The vast majority of our private landlords provide high-quality property and a good service for their tenants. Rent Smart Wales has helped to spread these good approaches by making sure landlords are aware of legal minimum standards for property conditions and they know the expectations on them as landlords. Rent Smart Wales has been a very positive step. Eighty nine thousand landlords are now registered, which is a 98 per cent compliance rate, equal to that of vehicle excise. Eighteen successful prosecutions have now taken place, with significant fines being imposed. 

Our Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 will make it simpler and easier to rent. It also deals with the issue of retaliatory evictions, protects the tenancy rights of victims of domestic abuse and ensures that properties are fit for human habitation. It's an important improvement in the lot of over 1 million people who rent their homes in Wales. 

In March, we had the short debate on the use of no-fault notices, or section 21 notices. My commitment to working with landlords to build a vibrant rented sector cannot be at the expense of tenants. That's why I'm committed to working on this. Discussions with stakeholders have already begun, and I've met with Shelter Cymru to discuss our options. Several approaches are being explored currently, such as the extension of the notice period, providing incentives for landlords to identify a specific reason for notice should they seek a quicker possession.

Renting can be expensive in high-demand areas, such as parts of Cardiff. This reflects how difficult it is to afford to buy in these areas and we mustn't forget that the price of buying property also impacts on landlords who need a rental return on their investment, or else they can just sell the property and cash in any increase in the value of the property. Affordability is an issue that I'm keen to tackle, including how affordable it is to access the private rented sector or to move within it. That's why I've announced my intention to bring forward legislation very shortly to ban fees charged to tenants when they enter, renew or end a tenancy. 

So, what are the solutions that we should be grasping in our Welsh context? Again, Shelter's response to the rent control debate has been very interesting. They've pointed to the break in the link between rents and housing benefit, as a result of UK Government policy, which has made renting less affordable. Welfare reform is damaging and it's having a real impact on tenants and landlords. I've been very clear about our opposition to the UK Government's approach, which means that local housing allowances do not reflect the real cost of renting. This must change if the housing market is to operate effectively. 

We do not control welfare policy here in Wales but we do continue to do everything we can to ensure that the operation of the welfare system is integrated with our policy agenda. Discretionary housing payments provide support to vulnerable people, such as those we are assisting through the Supporting People programme. A number of authorities were not fully utilising their budget, so we worked with the authorities to develop a framework ensuring more consistent use of DHPs. This approach has been successful in reducing the number of authorities underspending their allowance from 13 to three in just one year. Now, we will work on those remaining three to ensure they're spending their allowance in full.

The other area Shelter points to is the need to increase the supply of affordable housing, ensuring that the whole housing system works effectively. I'm proud of the work we're doing in Wales on this and the progress that we're making towards our 20,000 affordable homes target. I recently announced an independent review of affordable housing supply, which will examine arrangements supporting the development of affordable housing. This review takes place against the backdrop of our longstanding commitment to increase the supply, which lies at the heart of our programme for government. I hope that it will allow us to set even more stretching targets in future, whilst also continuing to create a climate that drives up quality.

The Welsh way is to look for partnership where consensus is likely to deliver the outcomes that we seek. I believe that we have established a strong partnership with private sector landlords in Wales—a partnership where clear responsibilities, standards and professionalism are properly enforced and poor landlords are held to account, and where the rights of tenants are protected, whilst still offering incentives to the good landlord. So, I'm not afraid to regulate the sector where I feel it's necessary to do so and I share the concerns of others who have spoken today, and I'm always open to exploring ideas from here and from elsewhere—we've heard of a number of interesting models from other countries—whilst in the end settling on the solutions that suit both our Welsh housing market and our Welsh partnership approach. Thank you.