Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:08 pm on 23 February 2021.
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. A lot of hard work has gone into this legislation. I do commend the Bill team and the committee staff. There have been lots of positive conversations around the possibilities presented by the Bill. I believe we've started to see the beginnings of change of rebalancing the rights in favour of tenants, but—and there is a 'but', I'm afraid—it's been a real shame that the Government hasn't been able to move more on the notice period in the legislation. An opportunity really has been missed here.
My group tabled a series of amendments to the legislation that offered a wide range of options for compromise on this issue. Members will know that it was a long list because we had to vote on every single one, but each option was defeated, and that was disappointing. Strengthening tenants' rights has to be paramount, and we would have liked to have seen more radical progress. We're living in a time when being radical really is possible, and that is not the time to let opportunities pass us by. So, this is an area I think that we will see revisited in the beginning of the next Senedd term. I'm afraid that we will be voting against the legislation because it does not go far enough and because of the fact that we haven't seen that compromise, as I'd explained during the earlier stages. Diolch.