Amending Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:50 pm on 27 March 2019.

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Photo of David Melding David Melding Conservative 2:50, 27 March 2019

I am grateful to you, Presiding Officer. In England, they're looking at this as well, and you know that there's a proposal to increase the minimum tenancy period from six months to three years. However, the 1988 reform was designed to bring more properties onto the market, because at that stage there was, one could argue, quite severe over-regulation and the supply of properties to rent was very much affected. So, we need to look at this carefully, but I think the default position shouldn't be at something like six months. I think that's where we've got a problem, and it should be set higher. We need to consult widely with the sector. And, for some people, having a short tenancy is what they want, but that's a bit crowded now and we need more variety in the market, but there will have to be assurances on both sides when we look at longer tenancies, because they bring some risk, obviously, for very reputable landlords, as well.