Thank you very much for those comments and for the question as well. 

I thought the comparison with asking house buyers to pay the estate agent’s fees was quite an illuminating kind of comparison. Certainly, it puts it into perspective as well. And, as Mike Hedges perfectly correctly points out, these tenants' fees are fees that are paid by those who are usually least able to pay. And, as others have said, the private rented sector is going to become increasingly important in terms of meeting housing need, but also in terms of reducing the severe pressure that is also on our social rented sector as well.

In terms of that enforcement action, it has been modelled in line with the arrangements that are currently in place for non-compliance with licensing requirements under Part 1 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, and, to date, there have been relatively few breaches of licensing arrangements resulting in penalties. So, that does suggest that there is a sensible balance that has been struck in our approach so far. And it’s well worth recognising as well that the vast majority of landlords do work within the spirit and the letter of the law, and almost all agents and landlords are now registered under Rent Smart Wales. So, once the Bill comes into force, we would expect similarly high levels of compliance.

We consider that there will be a significant impact, not just from the financial penalties in the Bill, but the consequences for an agent or a landlord if they are convicted of an offence. Convictions for breaches of housing or landlord and tenant law are included in the criteria for Rent Smart Wales as the licensing authority, designated under section 3(1) of the 2014 Act, and that's something that must be taken into account when considering whether a person is a fit-and-proper person to be licensed under Part 1 of the Act. So, that is a really, really strong deterrent in terms of contravening the Bill. However, I'm sure that the committee will be giving close scrutiny to the level at which we have set that fine within the legislation, and I'll be interested to hear committee recommendations in terms of any escalator of fines.