Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Climate Change – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 21 September 2022.
Well, the Member will have heard me say in my answer to Carolyn Thomas that I think it's really important that we don't have unintended consequences. And one of the things I think that could happen is that you could see landlords exiting the market in large numbers, and that, therefore, would reduce the supply of property, which could lead to significantly increased homelessness. There are other potential unintended consequences as well. If you look at international evidence, you will see that rent control measures can create a target rather than a cap, and I think, again, that's a very important thing to avoid. Obviously, the Welsh Government's priority is the 20,000 new houses for the rented sector over the term of Government.