We welcome this legislation as a step in the right direction. For most of the past 25 years, the private rented sector has placed so much power with landlords and made the sector easy for some people to benefit from using unscrupulous methods, as the Minister has said. 

I think it's worth noting, and it's been alluded to already, that in a sector where the balance has for so long been so much in favour of one side you'll inevitably get people who want to keep it that way. In Wales, I think there are at least two professional organisations that have paid public affairs staff to represent landlords. Now, there's nothing wrong with that at all, but that is compared with, again, I think, just one person representing tenants in the private sector, and she seems to do that in her spare time.

There will be some who note the commitment made by the First Minister in his leadership campaign to end the use of no-fault evictions, which, as has been said, isn't what the proposal is that we have today. Some might wonder whether it's still the case that generation rent faces opposition in making the sector fairer.

I've listened to what the Minister's had to say, and I can anticipate some of the reasons why what we have here isn't an end to no-fault evictions, just a change in the notice period. For example, it's fair enough that landlords might have a mechanism for being able to gain possession of their properties so that they can exit the sector, and it's preferable that tenants can be allowed to move on without any suspicion being placed on them that they've done something wrong. But, I am concerned that six months isn't going to enable protection for some of the most vulnerable tenants—those who claim benefits, and those with very small children where frequently moving house would be no good for their development. So, I look forward to scrutinising the plans and that time limit, and seeing whether there's any room for manoeuvre on this. 

I also wonder whether the Minister has given some thought as to some policy mechanisms that could be used to allow landlords to exit the market without placing these very vulnerable people at risk. Firstly, I'd ask, would you consider establishing a capital fund for housing associations and local authorities to acquire homes currently in the private rented sector—a fund, of course, that could become self-sustaining—and ensure that the existing tenants can simply move into the social sector? After all, many families will be on the waiting lists already.

Secondly, would you consider establishing what we could brand as a right to buy for tenants in the private sector? I emphasise 'in the private sector'. By this, I mean providing the right for tenants who have occupied their homes for a specified period to have first refusal when the landlord wishes to sell, and to establish Welsh Government support for that person to move onto the ladder as a way of helping first-time buyers, with the obvious caveats around criteria, of course.

Finally, would you explore ways in which a landlord could exit the market earlier through establishing ways in which a property could only be sold to a person guaranteeing the tenancy continued? If you could put these in place—these measures—then I'd suggest we would be able to offer more than just a six-month notice period, and we could even end no-fault evictions altogether.