Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 3:10 pm on 17 July 2019.
Perhaps I can bring a little calm consensus to this matter. It is important that we strike the right balance here—that we don't put off potential landlords and existing landlords and ladies from making available housing for rent. But we do need a rebalance as well, and the UK Government has been part of a similar approach. I do urge you to remember what Richard Lambert said—who is the CEO of the National Landlords Association—and it's very apposite, given what you said about the 2016 Act. There, they ensured that the core procedures were reformed in Scotland—sorry, he was referring to Scotland, where they'd ensured that the core processes were put in place, and therefore tenant and landlord knew the recourse that they had should they have to use the court system. I think that that is a good lesson, because this system does have to work effectively and be fair to both sides.