Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I do object to amendments 56 and 58, which are the same as those brought forward on this matter at Stage 2. Our position is also the same—that the amendments inappropriately restrict the operation of the licensing authority. Removal of a licence under Part 1 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 may not necessarily be the best solution, but that is a matter for the licensing authority to decide. I would like to remind Members that section 20 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 provides that, in deciding whether a person is a fit and proper person to be licensed, the licensing authority—currently Rent Smart Wales—must have regard to all matters it considers appropriate. And, amongst the matters to which the licensing authority must have regard is any contravention of the law relating to housing or landlord and tenant matters.

Licensing arrangements require agents and landlords to show their fitness to operate. Conviction for an offence under sections 2 or 3 of the Bill would be a matter that the licensing authority must have regard to when deciding whether or not a licence is granted or revoked under section 25 of the 2014 Act. Fit-and-proper-person requirements under section 20 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 mean that, in deciding whether a person is a fit-and-proper person to be licensed, the licensing authority must have regard to all matters it considers appropriate, which will include whether or not there is a contravention of any provision of the law relating to housing or landlord and tenant law. A conviction for an offence would be a contravention, and the licensing authority must have regard to such contraventions in deciding whether someone is a fit-and-proper person to be licensed under Part 1 of the 2014 Act. This could mean revocation of a licence if the licensing authority is no longer satisfied that the licence holder is a fit-and-proper person to hold a licence.

As set out at Stage 2, there are also potential, serious unintended consequences if this amendment were to be passed. The amendments could create a perverse situation whereby a licence under Part 1 of the 2014 Act could be revoked by a criminal court. The same landlord or agent could continue to hold a licence to manage a house in multiple occupation whilst having a licence under Part 1 of the 2014 Act revoked by the criminal court. The amendment does not address these issues, which could mean we could see such anomalies.

Another unintended consequence of the amendment would arise if an agent or landlord decides to appeal against the decision of a licensing authority to revoke a licence under Part 1 of the 2014 Act. In these circumstances, the appeal would have to be heard in a residential property tribunal. Under amendments 56 and 58, if a criminal court could order the licensing authority to revoke the offender’s licence under section 25(1)(b) of the 2014 Act, these amendments would not work in tandem with the existing legislation. Rent Smart Wales would have to defend the revocation of a licence that they were ordered to revoke by a court, despite having played no part in the decision to revoke. Again, I do not see that these issues have been addressed in the amendment, which is unchanged from Stage 2.

For the avoidance of doubt, our expectation is that the licensing authority should have regard for these matters in their considerations. I've tabled an amendment to debated later, No. 25, which allows for guidance to the licensing authority on this matter.

These amendments are therefore, in our view, unnecessary and fundamentally flawed, and I would urge Members to reject both amendments.