The following amendments have been selected: amendment 1 in the name of Lesley Griffiths, and amendments 2 and 3 in the name of Darren Millar. If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be deselected.

Item 7 is next, and that’s the Plaid Cymru debate on the private rented sector. I call on Mabon ap Gwynfor to move the motion.

Motion NDM8091 Siân Gwenllian

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes that rising rents are adding to pressures on households across Wales as the cost-of-living crisis escalates further.

2. Notes that Wales’s average rental values have increased to £926 per month in June 2022, up by 15.1 per cent compared to June 2021.

3. Notes the increased numbers on social housing waiting lists, and the lack of social housing stock.

4. Notes that in the event of an eviction there is a lack of appropriate housing provision and people face homelessness.

5. Believes that tenants must be protected as a matter of urgency this winter.

6. Calls on the Welsh Government to implement emergency measures to:

a) freeze rents in the private rental sector;

b) place a moratorium on evictions.

Motion moved.

Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. At the outset, I want to declare an interest that is on the public register.

So, back in January, I put forward a motion on rent controls in the Siambr. The Conservatives, as expected, voted against it, while the Labour Party abstained, largely because of a promise that the Government had commissioned a paper to look into the idea that would feed into the White Paper on housing. But the White Paper continues to be some time off, while this motion looks to respond to an immediate crisis.

So, this Senedd has already accepted the principle that we need to see intervention in the rental market in order to defend tenants, many of whom are the most vulnerable people in our society. Contrary to noises from the Tories opposite, who believe in hoarding wealth and who claim that this proposal is anti-landlord, this proposal in front of us today, if it’s anti-anything, is anti-homelessness and is pro ensuring that everybody has a roof above their heads. Because here today we have a proposal to at least do something to help many of those threatened with homelessness this winter, as opposed to doing nothing. A rent freeze, as the name suggests, is merely a temporary action to tackle an immediate crisis. The same applies to a ban on evictions similar to the actions taken by this Government during the height of the COVID pandemic. Now, I understand the concerns about unintended consequences of taking these actions. There are concerns that rents will increase significantly at the end of the period, and that people will be made homeless. I get those concerns. But there are consequences to doing nothing, which are that many people will be made homeless this winter because of their inability to pay their rents. It stands to reason, therefore, that knowing that people will become homeless is an entirely intentional consequence of doing nothing. 

Only this Monday we marked World Homelessness Day, and the Minister was cutting ribbons to open the Crisis Skylight building in Swansea, which will help people at risk of homelessness. Well, I’m sorry to say that there’s a very real prospect that that centre will be inundated over the coming months with tenants that have been turned out because they can’t afford the rents on their homes. We’re in the midst of both a housing crisis and one of the worst cost-of-living crises in living memory. Like every financial crisis in the modern era, this crisis also has its roots in housing. In the case of private renters, all they do is work hard—sometimes more than one job—in order to transfer their hard-earned money to a private landlord.

Now, the Tories will argue that the housing crisis is the result of a dearth of supply. That’s correct, to a point. There is a chronic lack of social housing, which is the result of decades of underinvestment. But the irony of this argument seems to be lost on the Tories, because it completely undermines the most fundamental tenet of the open market dogma that they so fervently believe in, that of supply and demand. There’s plenty of demand but the supply side is falling woefully short. Supply and demand, just like trickle-down economics, just doesn’t work, and it’s a free market myth. This scarcity of available housing means that there’s a fierce competition for houses, with landlords able to increase rents knowing that people are desperate.

Now, of course, this isn’t true of all landlords, by any means. But consider this quote from an article by Rebecca Wilks for Voice.Wales this week, after she attended the Cardiff property investors event last week. She said:

'speaker Adam Jones advised landlords to issue “smaller, regular rent increases” instead of large, more sporadic hikes'.

It's tactics like this that have led to Wales having the largest increase in rents anywhere in the UK, except for London. In some cases, we're hearing of rents doubling and families left bereft.

Now, we hear that private landlords are leaving the sector with claims that the added burden of regulations are making things difficult for them. Ignore those claims. Firstly, regulations are there to protect the well-being of tenants. What we're seeing is property owners cashing in on inflated property prices, and, in some cases, cashing in after taking advantage of Government funds to make their properties more habitable and suitable for tenants, and then selling them for a profit or placing them on Airbnb. So, once again, what we're seeing is public funds being transferred directly into private bank accounts. Surely, you can see that there's something rotten in this system. So, we have a scarcity of available properties, which is adding to the problem and leading to massive increases in rents in some cases. 

In Wales, average rents have increased by over 15 per cent year on year. This is far more than inflation, and can't be justified. Two years ago, many private renters were spending over a third of their incomes on rents, and here in Cardiff tenants were spending closer to 40 per cent of their take-home pay on rents. This was two years ago, and, since then, we've seen double-digit rent rises. 

Our local authorities are already inundated with people presenting themselves as homeless and requiring temporary accommodation. They don't have the capacity to take on any more, but that's the situation they face this winter. Many millions of pounds are spent on assisting people who find themselves in this position, requiring temporary accommodation or homeless, and council budgets are completely blown. By doing nothing and letting people find themselves homeless, this Government will have to find more money to give councils to cope with the increase in homeless numbers. 

Yesterday, the First Minister challenged my colleague Adam Price to find the money to pay for nurse pay increases. Well, the challenge is thrown right back at you. Can you tell us where the money will come from to fund the massive increases in homelessness costs that will come as a consequence of inaction? A rent freeze is a temporary measure. It could be enacted immediately and last for the period of this cost-of-living crisis, which economists expect to be around two years. It could be reviewed on a six-monthly basis. You could then introduce a rent cap immediately afterwards in order to avoid that fear of some landlords massively hiking up their rents.

These are actions common to many other countries. In France, rent rises have been capped at 3.5 per cent for a year as part of a Government package on the cost-of-living crisis. In Denmark, rents have been temporarily decoupled from the consumer price index, and increase capped at 4 per cent over two years. Limitations on rent settings have been imposed in Paris and Lyon, and state-wide rent growth restrictions have been introduced in California since January 2020, and are to remain in force until 2031. In Berlin, rents were frozen for five years, starting in February 2020, and Ireland is looking to introduce a ban on evictions this winter.

The regional parliament in Brussels has developed an innovative scheme where they link rent increases to a property's energy efficiency, so low energy-efficiency houses are not allowed to raise their rents at all, when 30 per cent of houses in Brussels have very poor energy efficiencies, and this will help the cost-of-living crisis and incentivise landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. So, these are some ideas that could be taken forward if you don't accept this proposal in front of us today. These are steps that you could look at here in Wales.

Scotland has introduced a rent freeze and a ban on evictions following a campaign by Mercedes Villalba and her Labour colleagues. The Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is calling for a rent freeze. Labour's shadow housing Secretary in England, Lisa Nandy, is looking at giving councils the right to introduce rent freezes in England. So, will Labour in Wales follow their comrades across the UK? The Tories in Westminster, of course, have already introduced a freeze—a freeze on local housing allowance. Local housing allowance has been frozen for two years, yet in those two years rents have increased more than at any other time.

I've referred before to the exceptional work of the Bevan Foundation, who conducted two in-depth studies into local housing allowance, and the fact that in Wales, over the summer period, there were only 60 properties available throughout the whole of Wales at LHA levels. As a Government, you've agreed that the freeze in LHA allowance should be lifted. That's an easy call, because you can blame Westminster, it's their fault, but we can introduce our own freeze here to allow those tenants to live in their own homes by freezing rents. That's a tangible action that we can take to respond to Westminster's callousness. So, a message to our Labour colleagues: be brave, be bold, don't dilly-dally around. The choice is stark: take action and freeze rents, or do nothing and let people freeze this winter.

I have selected the three amendments to the motion. If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be deselected. I call on the Minister for Climate Change to move formally amendment 1, tabled in the name of Lesley Griffiths. 

Amendment 1—Lesley Griffiths

Delete all after point 1 and replace with:

Believes that the UK Government is failing to grasp their responsibilities to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and calls for the UK Government to honour its commitment to uplift benefits in line with inflation, including an immediate unfreezing and increase to local housing allowance rates in Wales.

Recognises that:

a) social tenants in Wales are protected from rent rises this winter;

b) from 1 December the Renting Homes Act will offer tenants greater protection from eviction;

c) more than 25,200 people, presenting as homeless, have been supported into temporary accommodation since the start of the pandemic.

Welcomes:

a) the additional £6m to local authorities that can be used to support payment of rent arrears or providing a rent guarantee;

b) the £65m investment in transitional accommodation capital programme to increase the amount of social housing, ensuring more people have a place to call home.

Amendment 1 moved.

Formally. Formally.

It's okay—I heard.

I call on Janet Finch-Saunders to move amendments 2 and 3, tabled in the name of Darren Millar.

Amendment 2—Darren Millar

Delete point 6 and replace with:

Notes the spiralling cost of temporary accommodation spend for local authorities.

Amendment 3—Darren Millar

Add new points at end of motion:

Notes the increasing number of section 21 eviction notices being issued by private landlords.

Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) work with local authorities to better promote the empty home loan scheme returning more empty houses into homes;

b) review and speed up the planning application process to enable developers to meet house-building targets;

c) review what steps can be taken to convert empty space above retail units into affordable, centrally located housing.

Amendments 2 and 3 moved.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I refer Members to my declaration of interest form in terms of property ownership.

I rise once again to contribute to another debate that references and tries to do down the private rental sector. Now, let me say from the start and without any doubt that it is a matter of fact that private landlords are a very large, significant contributor to providing good quality and safe homes across Wales. The majority of these landlords are signed up with Rent Smart Wales, and they take their role as home owners and landlords very seriously and professionally. Speak to any one of them and they will tell you, 'All we want is to find a good tenant who will look after my asset—the property—and pay their rent so that it does make it worth while.'

Now, this debate today I believe is coming as a consequence of continued failure of the Welsh Labour Government since the start of devolution, and you in Plaid Cymru are not free from this; you have been in Government here in the last 23 years. House building has collapsed over the past 23 years—the number of dwellings completed between 2021-22 9.3 per cent lower than before the pandemic. You're not even halfway yet to achieving the target of 12,000 new homes a year. The Welsh Labour Government has also failed to build social housing in Wales, and it's a fact that because of what you're calling for now there's nervousness growing in the registered landlord agencies. Only around 9,000 housing association and local authority homes were built between 2010 and 2019. Your failure so far has resulted in 67,000 households stuck on housing waiting lists in Wales. So, don't say people are going to become homeless—it's already happening.

Temporary accommodation spend has rocketed from £5 million in Wales in 2018-19 to over £20 million in 2021; 25,200 people placed in temporary accommodation. Let me tell you, these are not nice, cosy little homes—these are rooms in golf clubs, bed and breakfasts and hotels. Whole hotels have been taken over in Llandudno, in a tourist destination, to provide a roof over the heads of our vulnerable families.

The private rental sector market is voting with its feet. These valuable home providers are leaving the market. In the National Residential Landlords Association's latest landlord confidence index, landlords in Wales have the lowest levels of confidence when compared to landlords in all English regions. NRLA's member survey data shows that 26 per cent of landlords in Wales have sold over the last 12 months; 49 per cent are planning to sell a property in the next 12 months. Landlord repossessions have been steadily increasing in Wales in the past year, up to 150 in the second quarter of 2022, compared to only 78 at the end of 2021.

So out of touch are Plaid Cymru—[Interruption.]—yes—and Welsh Labour, that you have thought it reasonable—and you keep echoing it, and it's a shame, shame on you—you think it's reasonable to introduce further burdens through the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. Plaid Cymru calling for freezing rents and contemplating a moratorium on evictions, even when there are serious rent arrears—why would any landlord stay, giving an asset over to someone to live in, and then have serious—

Will you take an intervention?

Yes, go on.

I've heard you refer to houses as 'assets' twice already. Isn't this the crux of the problem with this issue, that houses are being viewed as assets? Houses are homes for families. Will you not accept that?

Yes, but bear in mind that a lot of these homes have been bought, you know, and are subject to mortgages.

To make money, so they're not for families.

No. I'm sorry, no. The policies alone—

Can we not have a dialogue? There's not a dialogue between Members.

No, thank you. These two policies alone will turbocharge the tsunami of landlords leaving the sector and a section 21 notice is issued. Already, between 2018-19 and 2021-22, there have been 20,070 landlords deactivating from Rent Smart Wales. It is policies such as yours that are actually now spooking the market. Evidence shows that an eviction ban delays the threat of homelessness rather than seeking to prevent it. Following the lifting of the previous ban, landlord possessions in England and Wales increased by 207 per cent. These are not my figures; these are documented stats. A study by Assist Inventories of 10,000 landlords found that 45 per cent planned to move away from long-term tenancies, with a further 41 per cent saying they're going to consider it.

Then we have this nightmare of rent controls. Prior to the Scottish Parliament passing their legislation, the Scottish Association of Landlords warned that landlords were just selling their properties in light of the proposals. If we look further afield, in San Francisco, where the housing supply then fell by 15 per cent, while in Berlin rent shot up by almost 10 per cent between 2015 and 2017. So, there we have it.

I'm not going to say Welsh Labour, because it's not their debate this, but I was very pleased with Hefin David on Sharp End on Monday evening, when he spoke common sense and said that he's been approached by councils—

Janet, you need to conclude now, please.

—who were saying, 'Please do not freeze rents.'

I'm outlining the truth, and have repeated several times that you and your policies will push people into temporary accommodation. I genuinely invite fellow Members of this Parliament to accept reality, let us all work together, cross party, to tackle the housing crisis in its entirety. So, there, we can a make start today by backing the amendments tabled in the name of Darren Millar MS. Diolch.

Our motion today is one that seeks to ensure social justice and protection from the worst economic storm in decades. It's about taking action now, saving people from misery and destitution now. It's about insisting that it is protecting the most vulnerable in society that must be the focus of a just Government, not protecting the assets and incomes of those who won't have to face the anguish of trying to keep food on the table or losing their homes.

People who rent their homes are more likely to live in poverty or be on low incomes. They are less likely to have savings or assets that they can use to cushion economic shocks or short-term financial difficulties. These are the groups of people that will be most anxious about being able to afford their rent as everyday costs rise. And I'm sure all Members would agree that no-one should have to be worried about losing their shelter—not their assets; their shelter—during the coldest time of the year.

So, remember, 35 per cent of social renters and 21 per cent of private renters report they struggle to afford the basics, compared to people who own their own home or have a mortgage. Nearly 10,000 households in Wales were threatened with homelessness last year, and more than one in 10 people in Wales are worried about losing their home in the coming months. That has to be our focus these coming months. Mainly those in the private rental sector—

Will you take an intervention?

No, I think you've spoken enough, Janet. Those in the private rental sector face increasing rent inflation. On top of this, remember, 45 per cent of households in Wales are now trapped in fuel poverty, and 98 per cent of low-income households are living in fuel poverty, having to spend more than 20 per cent of their income on energy. And these figures were published before inflation hit record levels, pushing up costs of everyday items. Dirprwy Lywydd, there is simply nowhere for these families to turn. There's no slack in the budget.

The Welsh Government has tried to offer different programmes of support where possible, which, of course, is to be commended, but the truth is that the payments on offer are not going to touch the sides and they are not going to help everybody in need. It may be mild out there today, but be in no doubt that winter is already here, a winter that will have a terrible impact on the health and well-being of too many Welsh families. And the worst affected will be those who already suffer socioeconomic disadvantage. The worst affected will be people with disabilities; women; single parents; people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds; people who have physical and mental health problems; families with children; younger people; LGBTQ+ people—groups of people who already face barriers as regards housing, employment opportunities, income gaps, health inequalities, higher costs.

The cost-of-living crisis has to be seen in the same terms of the COVID crisis, the lessons of which were hard learnt by this Government. But the phrase I remember being used by Ministers, when they understood, although too late for some families, that radical and bold action needed to be taken to save lives in the face of Westminster inaction was, 'Go hard, go early.' We need to see the same approach again with this crisis. We need to go hard and go early. The Government have the powers to protect the people of Wales from the brunt of the harm of Tory ideological indifference in respect of protecting those who are at an increased risk of economic hardship, debt and homelessness this winter, because there are circumstances in emergencies and crises where it is necessary to bring in temporary emergency measures, and this is especially needed by those groups who are most disadvantaged by the combined housing and cost-of-living crises. The director of public health at Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board, Dr Kelechi Nnoaham, said today:

'The cost of living crisis is going to do exactly what the Covid crisis did'.

The impact of the crisis was deeper on the most deprived areas of Wales, the death rate twice as high. It's that same inequality, those same vulnerabilities, that the cost-of-living crisis is deepening. The suffering of people in those groups and communities will again be greater.

Will you give way? Just building on this point, during the COVID crisis, what did we do? We shielded the most vulnerable. Isn't that what these proposals for a rent freeze and a temporary emergency ban on evictions are designed to do? They are to shield the most vulnerable in the context of this cost-of-living crisis.

Exactly, and the health aspect of this has been pointed out today by the Royal College of Physicians, who have said, of course, that poverty causes illness and poor health. The cost-of-living crisis is likely to have a significant impact on the NHS, just as the COVID crisis did. Tenant associations such as ACORN, Living Rent, and Generation Rent agree that the measures brought in by the Scottish Government are a good way to help protect those most at risk from the crisis. As we heard, London mayor Sadiq Khan's response to what's happened in Scotland is that a rent freeze is exactly what Londoners need. Plaid Cymru believe it's what the people of Wales need.

If we wait too long, if we don't act now, then it will be too late to prevent those who are most disadvantaged in our society from the crippling and devastating effect of unaffordable rent and the terror of homelessness. The Welsh Government does not have the power—

Sioned, you need to conclude now, please.

Yes. The Welsh Government does not have the power to stop bills soaring. It can't ensure that the Tory Westminster Government increases benefits in line with inflation. But it can take action to give people security that they can stay in their homes, that budgets already stretched to breaking point don't snap due to rent increases, while the cold winds of this terrible economic storm chill the people of Wales to the bone.

I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing this debate forward today. I think we need to talk about housing much more often than we do. I believe housing is important, and until we deal with housing effectively to create a balance between supply and demand, there will continue to be a problem. A lot of the problems we have in education and health stem from inadequate housing. There are two answers to the housing crisis, using actions that have previously worked. The one I prefer is to build council houses at the scale required to meet demand. This worked between the 1950s and the 1970s. If we were representative as a Senedd, at least 15 and probably 20 of us would have been brought up in council housing. We would have Members who understood its importance.

Obviously, the Conservatives have a different view. That is to abandon planning controls. This worked in the 1930s—I'm not saying it wouldn't work—but there are substantial environmental costs. I mean, do the Conservatives really want to see large-scale uncontrolled development in areas of outstanding natural beauty, national parks, rural and seaside areas? Because that's what abandoning planning regulations actually means. Look at the areas that you cherish as green and pleasant. Do the Conservatives want to develop on these? Of course, there is no problem that the Westminster Conservatives—

Will you take an intervention?

Please.

You're talking about supply and demand. We know for a fact that we need about 12,000 houses completed every year in the Welsh property market. At the moment, at best, the Government is completing about 6,000, maybe as low as 5,000 in a bad year. We're not even getting close to what the demand is. Surely you recognise that as a problem, and calling for considered planning control permissions is something that's to be welcomed, so long as the infrastructure's put in place, such as doctors' surgeries, schools and transport infrastructures. So, it's not about going over beautiful places; it's about having a sensible planning policy that meets the demand.

I think you've just made a number of builders very happy, knowing you would welcome large-scale building in Cowbridge and the Vale of Glamorgan.

The UK Government's freeze on local housing allowances means that most people and families receiving local housing allowance rates face a gap between rates paid and their rent. This increases the risk of homelessness, as it becomes more and more difficult for people to keep up with paying rent, on top of covering essentials, such as food and energy bills.

Over the last 50 years, the housing mix has changed. There's been a decline in council housing and a large increase in the number of privately rented properties. The privately rented sector is now the second most common tenure after owner occupation. There's been a growth in the number of private landlords. Yes, I realise that all private landlords are not modern-day Rachmans. In fact, most private landlords are good landlords and treat their tenants well. A lot of these only own one property, and many of these were bought via a mortgage. Social tenants in Wales are already protected over the winter from rent increases, as social rents are set annually, with the next change in social rents not due until April 2023. Registered social landlords are facing huge pressures, especially where they have to refinance loans.

Superficially, freezing rents in the private rental sector is attractive, but it freezes rents as they are now, and some rents are too high and others too low, relative to properties of the same type. With interest rates rising, it could lead to properties having to be sold. If what happens is that the properties are sold and then bought by first-time buyers, that would be a great thing. Reducing the number of privately rented properties, increasing the number of owner occupiers: good. But, unfortunately, we have the wild west of housing, Airbnb, and that is what worries me, that people will take these houses from renting to families and put them into Airbnb. This removes the property from the housing market. When properties being sold are used as Airbnb in east Swansea, then this has to be a problem all around Wales.

Can I just quote from Crisis, which is something Mabon spoke about earlier, who are the major housing charity? An immediate flood of notices to quit and letters notifying of rent increases are what they fear would happen with what Plaid Cymru are putting forward today. Crisis would advise learning from the recent announcements of similar legislation in Scotland. During the delay between announcement and enactment, colleagues across the housing sector in Scotland reported tenants being issued with notices to quit and letters notifying them of rent increases.

I thought rent controls. I want rent officers to be brought back. Because landlords can evict tenants with a section 21 notice once the fixed term expires, Welsh tenants lack any real rent controls. The landlord can ask them to pay a higher rent and evict them, or find new tenants if they refuse. This demonstrates the ease with which tenants can be evicted and is intimately linked to the lack of rent controls.

A moratorium on evictions looks attractive, but could simply postpone evictions until it's lifted. If tenants decide not to pay rent to their landlords, they may accrue serious rent arrears that then provide a ground for eviction. From 1 December, new tenancies in Wales will be subject to a six-month no-fault eviction ban, and the Welsh Government are consulting on extending this to existing tenancies. I just think no-fault evictions should be ended now. Never should anybody be asked to leave for no fault. That is fundamentally wrong and it breaks the balance between landlord and tenant.

I'll finally come back to supply. With a shortage of supply and a strong demand, rents rise. The only effective solution is the large-scale building of council houses. It worked before and it'll work again.

We've heard already today how the cost-of-living crisis and the housing crisis have a greater impact on certain sections of society or communities than others. As Plaid Cymru's spokesperson for older people and communities, I'm aware just how difficult winter can be at the best of times for older people, and this certainly isn't the best of times. Older people in Wales are amongst those most likely to be affected by the cost-of-living crisis. Given we have a higher proportion of older people living here in Wales, compared to other nations in the UK, this is a particular worry.

For many older people, turning the heating down or off is not an option, and they will be feeling the higher energy costs more than most in the coming months. I hope we can all agree here that no older person in our communities should be at risk of homelessness this winter. Older people should also be able to retire with dignity, with enough income to live comfortably and happily. It is an enduring disgrace that this has been denied to many women in Wales due to the Tory Government's ill-advised and ill-mannered pension equalisation policy, which has pushed many into poverty. This policy was rushed through, and it left the retirement plans of so many women in Wales in absolute tatters. 

The rent freeze and eviction ban we are calling for today would not only protect older people from homelessness, but it will ensure that, in the face of rent inflation, older people can remain connected to their communities and live around the people who support them. This will be essential during winter months to prevent issues such as falls and cold home-related illnesses. If older people have to downgrade to less appropriate housing due to rising prices, they may experience social isolation, illnesses, fuel poverty and even winter deaths. A lot of these consequences can be avoided if the measures in our motion today were to be implemented. 

Moving on, the cost of living and housing crisis will negatively impact on the wider community without emergency measures. Rent inflation threatens to push lower-income tenants out of the neighbourhoods they live in and potentially contribute to the gentrification that we have already seen elsewhere. Another consequence would be increasing commuting times, as well as having potentially psychological and social consequences on the individuals and communities affected. 

Finally, research from the United States has found that rent controls can be particularly effective at preventing the displacement of racial minorities and can help foster diversity in affected areas. If we are to do right by the most vulnerable people in Wales, we need to go further than what we are currently doing. Please support this motion. Diolch yn fawr.

Can I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing forward today's really important debate on the private rented sector? I was really pleased that, on these benches, we were able to support the vast majority of the proposals that you've put forward today. But, of course, we aren't able to support point 6. In our proposal, we propose to delete that, which is obviously in relation to the freeze on rents in the private sector. But, I am really pleased that we also have been able to provide some alternative solutions to some of the challenges that are out there at the moment, and I will be exploring those a little bit further in my contribution today.

First of all, I would just like to come onto the point that Mabon ap Gwynfor mentioned in his opening, which is about some of the unintended consequences around a rent freeze. As we've seen in Scotland, where those rent freezes have already been introduced, this has already provided some unintended and negative consequences for tenants and for those seeking to rent property, because the supply of rental housing is reducing whilst demand is growing. Indeed, Scotland's largest house builder has now announced that they are going to halt investment in the private rental sector, partly because of these measures. Also on unintended consequences, in Ireland, where, as mentioned, there are already forms of rent control in place, we've seen recently chaotic photographs on social media of hundreds of people queuing up to try to get hold of rental properties in places like Dublin at the moment. So, clearly, it's not the panacea to solve everything, certainly, at the moment.

The other point that Mabon ap Gwynfor highlighted in opening, which others have mentioned as we've gone through this evening, is the mismatch between supply and demand on privately rented houses. It's quite clear that a rent freeze would do nothing at all to address supply and demand challenges. So, it's really important and, whilst it might be easier to try to dismiss some of the unintended consequences, they are very real if a rent freeze is something that Government wanted to support and progress with. 

As is outlined in amendment 2 today of our proposals, local authorities are being faced with some spiralling costs of temporary accommodation, and there are some significant challenges there that need to be addressed. It struck me that the Welsh Government actually provided local authorities with around £10 million of the COVID tenancy hardship grant scheme, but only 2.3 per cent of that money was actually ever used. So, I wonder, as a quick fix to help in the immediate term, if the Welsh Government could consider using the significant underspend on supporting those who are struggling fairly immediately. There is a key role that our councils can play in helping to tackle some of these challenges. We know that empty homes in Wales are a significant issue; we know that there are more empty homes than there are second homes in Wales. So, we propose that there should be more work done to promote the empty home loan scheme, to make sure more empty homes are being returned into occupied homes. There's a real opportunity there to make a quick difference.

The other issue I'd like to touch on today has already been mentioned, actually; it comes back to this supply and demand issue around seeing more houses being built. It's already been mentioned that there needs to be around 12,000 homes built in Wales every single year, and those numbers are never even getting close in Wales at the moment. That is across all of Wales. It's a fairly simple equation in some ways: more homes enable fewer people to be homeless; it's not rocket science. We have to look at what is causing not enough homes to be built in Wales to meet demand. Because we know—

Will you take an intervention, please? 

Certainly, Jane. Yes.

Thank you so much. It was really great to hear you saying 'more homes, less people homeless', but I'm just really concerned about the Conservative position in relation to selling off our social housing. It's something I believe your party still supports. I just wondered if you could comment on that. Is that something you believe in—taking the social housing stock from local authorities and selling it on? Thank you very much. Thanks for allowing me to intervene.

Not at all. I think it's a real aspiration for people to own their own homes, and I wouldn't want to be seen at all as holding people back from actually owning their own property, having that destiny in their own hands. I think that's a really important principle we should be looking to agree on.

I'll go back to the point around building more private homes, because nearly 85 per cent of homes in Wales are either owned or in the private rental sector. It's a real significant proportion of homes here in Wales. We also know that—and I appreciate time is running, Deputy Presiding Officer; I'll be as fast as I can here—in Wales, data from Propertymark shows that twice as many landlords are leaving the sector compared to other parts of the UK. So, it's clearly an issue here in Wales that is different to other parts of the UK, causing landlords not to want to be here as much as other areas of the UK.

I appreciate time has gone; I would urge Members to support our amendments as outlined in the paper. Thank you.

What we're discussing today are urgent actions to support a crisis that we are all seeing. People are being made homeless now. More people will become homeless this winter—

Would you take an intervention?

I've only just started, Janet. If I can carry on, and if you still want to intervene on something I've said—.

But just to respond to Sam Rowlands: of course we need to be building more homes, but that's not going to solve things for people who are homeless now, where there are inadequate solutions now. And we know already that families have been struggling to make ends meet in recent years due to deliberate austerity measures, with single parents, children and young people being some of the most disproportionately affected groups.

The Bevan Foundation found that over the summer of 2022, the number of households with one or two children that were having to cut back on food for children had nearly doubled since November 2021. That's one in 10 families with one child, and one in five families with two children, cutting back on food.

As we know, there is a significant body of evidence that demonstrates the impact of poor nutrition in childhood on a child's long-term health prospects. So, these figures are especially concerning, and they will only worsen as we reach the winter months and as the cost-of-living crisis worsens. We have to ensure that we are not only providing support to ensure that households aren't having to choose between feeding their children and heating their homes, but aren't also placed at risk of losing their home through evictions through the coldest months of the year, or being priced out because of rent inflation.

We know, also, that there's been an increase in the number of young people and care leavers being placed in temporary accommodation. In 2021-22, 95 16 and 17-year-olds were placed in temporary B&B accommodation under the current homelessness legislation and 114 care leavers were place in temporary accommodation under the same legislation. Both figures have risen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We also know that students have been raising significant financial concerns as the cost-of-living crisis has worsened, with 92 per cent of students surveyed by NUS concerned about their ability to manage financially. Student loans and grants are not increasing in line with inflation, yet they’re facing rising costs. Students have been spending more and more of their money on rent. Three years ago, the average student rent in Wales took up about 53 per cent of their financial support package, but now this figure is almost 60 per cent, with student rent rising astronomically in Wales during the past three years.

In that survey undertaken, it also stated that almost one in three students had just £50 left per month after paying their rent and bills in order to purchase food and other essential items needed for study. Eleven per cent were using foodbanks. Over two thirds of students, 69 per cent, had seen their housing costs go up since January of this year, with almost half of students saying this had gone up by over £20 per week. Eighty-nine per cent of students cited that the cost-of-living crisis has had an impact on their mental health, with a key theme in this category surrounding ‘worry over paying bills’ and ‘constant worry and stress’, as well as ‘struggling to eat’.

We must do more to ensure that our children, young people and learners are not disproportionately impacted by this cost-of-living crisis. These groups are, in many cases, reliant on family or Government for support, so we must ensure that neither they themselves nor their families are at risk of eviction, or being unable to afford their rent, or ultimately becoming homeless as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. That's why today's motion is so important: to protect those we represent who are most vulnerable in our communities.

Housing is a right, not a commodity. As stated by the United Nations, a home should be a sanctuary, a place to live in peace, security and dignity. All of that is at risk and will be at risk this winter. These are emergency measures for an emergency situation. That's why I am supporting this today, and I hope others will.

In many European countries, the majority of people rent their houses, but in the UK, properties are classed as an investment. The idea that a home is a human right and that everybody is entitled to a roof over their head is subordinated to the whims of market forces, privatisation and the pursuit of profit.

When Margaret Thatcher came to power, the Government withdrew funding for councils to build housing. The disastrous right-to-buy policy further entrenched neoliberal dogma into UK housing policy and saw a 45 per cent reduction in social housing available between 1981 and 2014. Most homes sold under this policy were never replaced. It represented a mass sell-off of state assets into the private sector, which as a result cost local people more to rent and, in some cases, the public purse more in housing benefit. It wasn't until 2016 that local authorities could keep the rent from properties and reinvest in bringing them up to the Welsh housing quality standard and new council house building. Unfortunately, by this time, Tory cuts under austerity were biting.

The Welsh Government spends over 90 per cent of its budget on public sector funding and does not have the fiscal levers to borrow. The UK Government does and should provide funding to build housing. Under Clement Attlee's Labour Government, the state directly provided funding to councils to be invested in increasing social housing. The results were that hundreds of thousands of social rented homes were built. From an economic point of view, the justification was obvious: with the state building large numbers of homes, house prices and rents remained affordable because of high supply.

The current Tory policy of cutting public service funding as well as limiting social house building has created a loss of local planning, drainage, highway and transport experts, and will create mass unemployment in Wales, and poverty, as one third of people are employed in the public sector here in Wales. I am told that people in the public sector are now presenting as needing a roof over their heads, as wages have not risen with the Tory cost-of-living crisis. And the Prime Minister needs to be educated that you cannot grow the private sector while cutting the public sector under austerity too. The private sector cannot step in, as there is a huge workforce and skills shortage there too following the pandemic and leaving the EU.

Social landlords are already subject to a rents freeze until the end of March next year; caps are reviewed annually and are set by Welsh Government. The private sector needs also to have rent controls, the right to secure tenancies with the right to keep a pet included in the tenancy, and ban the use of no-fault evictions. And we need to ensure that banks and building societies take historic rent payments into account when assessing mortgage applications. Many people are paying rent prices that are higher than mortgage applications.

The local housing allowance was frozen in 2016, and again in 2020. Some landlords are flipping to Airbnbs as, according to a Bevan report, in some areas, they can earn in 10 weeks what they would on a full-time rental through the local housing allowance, which is just not enough. The situation is fast-moving and critical. From talking recently to council leaders and housing associations, and a new report from Crisis, the time for a private rent freeze is not now; the situation is too volatile, complex and risky under the UK Government's political-economic crisis, which has seen the fastest mortgage increase on record, and a forecast that house prices will fall and a recession, there's just nothing to fill the gap at the moment. Landlords are realising that their property investment will no longer be sound and that they can make more by putting their money into the bank. People are worried about mortgages once fixed-terms comes to an end, and the situation is frightening. 

I have just read the Scottish Government's rent freeze—

Carolyn, will you give way?

Sorry, I just want to carry on. I'm mid flow and I've only got a minute left. 

I just wanted to ask a quick question.

No. She's not giving way.

I've just—sorry, I don't know where I'm up to you, now. I have just read that the Scottish Government's rent freeze has lots of exceptions for private landlords, where a landlord faces increased property costs, mortgage interest payments and some insurance costs, so they do have exceptions, and they're not included in that rent freeze. We need to ensure that there is targeted help for those struggling tenants who are earning enough to cover rent but are entitled to benefits.

I welcome the funding to allow councils and housing associations to purchase private rental properties as they come on the market to help secure tenancies, save evictions and move properties into the social housing market, which is what we need. There are approximately 25,000 empty properties in Wales. Often, one of the reasons given by owners of empty properties for keeping them is that they are waiting for the property markets to improve before selling. Because of the lack of supply of housing, owners know that, if they hold on to a property long enough, it's likely to increase in value. People now will probably realise that their asset will depreciate because of what's happening with the economic status and put them on the market, hopefully.

I call on the Minister for Climate Change now—Julie James.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. People across Wales are facing an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis, fuelled by soaring energy, fuel and food costs. But, Dirprwy Lywydd, let's be clear: this is entirely a Tory-made crisis, from a decade of austerity to cruel cuts to benefits and broken promises on taxes. Mortgage bills are rising as a result of the fallout from the mini budget, or fiscal event, or whatever it is that we're supposed to call it, and the UK is forecast to have the slowest growth of any major advanced economy next year, and the lowest of any G20 economy, bar Russia. The Tories have created the conditions for this unprecedented crisis and are adding to the pressures on household budgets. The Welsh Government entirely recognises the pressure that the rising cost of living is placing on already struggling households budgets. This, of course, includes rental costs for tenants.

We know that rents sought for new lets and rent in particular areas of Wales are increasing at a much faster rate than the average 2.5 per cent reported by the Office for National Statistics. Mabon talked of doing nothing, but this Government is committed to helping tenants, including supporting them to remain in their homes. That is why we have provided an additional £6 million this financial year to local authorities for discretionary homelessness prevention and relief measures. This funding can be used for both private rented and social tenants, and can include a payment of rent arrears, providing a rent guarantee or assistance with household bills. Preventing homelessness remains an absolute key priority in Wales and is reflected in our programme for government and in the co-operation agreement. Underpinning this, of course, is our ambitious target to deliver 20,000 new low-carbon homes for rent in the social sector in this Senedd term.

The Llywydd took the Chair.

Our commitment is absolutely demonstrated in the investments that we are making: over £197 million of housing support and homeless prevention services, and a record £310 million in social housing this year alone. We do not underestimate, however, the scale of the challenge facing households across Wales, who are, understandably, extremely worried about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on them and their families. That is why we are working across the Government to offer and deliver immediate support for those most in need.

As the Minister for Social Justice set out in a recent cost-of-living debate, in this financial year alone, we will be spending £1.6 billion on targeted cost-of-living support and universal programmes to put money back in people’s pockets and help alleviate this crisis. Only a few weeks ago, the First Minister announced an additional three measures that we will implement, on a third ‘Claim what’s yours’ campaign, on warm spaces and on foodbanks.

Turning specifically to the private rented sector, in January this year, I launched leasing scheme Wales, committing £30 million over five years to improve access to longer term affordable housing in the private rented sector. It will deliver security for tenants and confidence for landlords. The scheme is designed to support the most disadvantaged people and households who are experiencing, or who are at risk of, homelessness. Tenants on the scheme will benefit from longer term security of tenure between five and 20 years and rents restricted to local housing allowance rates. There will be additional funding to ensure that they receive the level of support that they would expect in social housing. We have also provided £300,000 of funding for Citizens Advice Cymru, to establish the private rented sector or PRS debt helpline. During the first year of the scheme, more than 900 tenants have been supported.

But it is clear, looking at the legislation laid in Scotland, that neither rent freezes nor an eviction moratorium offers a panacea or absolute certainty for tenants. I’m sure that Members have seen the paper from Crisis on this very topic. Crisis points out that a blanket rent freeze policy benefits all tenants in the rented sector, but not all tenants in the rented sector are experiencing problems with affordability. The private rented sector in particular—and these are Crisis’s words, not mine—is a very diverse sector in terms of the households it serves, from students and young professionals, to families with children and older households. There is a group of middle-income households for whom affordability is not such a problem. There’s a sizable group who are really struggling to meet their housing costs, who these proposals might benefit. There’s also a group who are already having to make up shortfalls between their rent and their housing benefit. Now, a rent freeze and an eviction ban would serve to delay evictions of this group, but would not eliminate the risk of accruing rent arrears. They go on to say that they support exactly what this Government is doing, which is to target the support at the people who are most vulnerable in this sector and make sure that they stay in their homes. We do not want to drive landlords away from the sector; we want to make sure that people take advantage of the PRS and stay in their homes.

So, while on the face of it—as many Members who have contributed to this debate have pointed out—a temporary moratorium could be seen as a way of keeping people in their homes, it has absolutely been the case that it does not do so for a very long time. It just delays the point where people face mandatory evictions in the spring, for rent arrears that they find very difficult to pay back. So, targeted help for them at the time, in their home, is a much better way to do it. And legislating to introduce a rent freeze does not impact on new lettings. Recent academic evidence has highlighted that the consequence of rent controls in many countries—for example, Ireland, as people have pointed out—has been landlords leaving the market in really large numbers. This further reduces the availability of housing and risks driving up cases of homelessness, particularly for the most vulnerable tenants, who are not able to access alternative rental accommodation.

Also, rent control measures have proven to act as a target rather than a cap in some jurisdictions. So, our preferred approach is absolutely to ensure that tenants are supported in staying in their own homes, and to provide financial assistance, which we have already put in place and is available right now. This is not any kind of ‘do nothing’ option. And of course, we are bringing in the renting homes Act in December, which is a real shift in the protection afforded to tenants in the PRS.

And of course we need to develop a robust and long-term solution that will ensure a sustainable rental sector in Wales. To do this, we need to understand fully, through evidence, what the issues are in different parts of the country and what implications various rent control options may have, if introduced. That is why we have committed, under the co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru, to developing a White Paper during this Government term. We've commissioned research, which is now under way, to develop the evidence base to support the right kind of rent controls for the right kind of property in the right place. However, given the escalating prices, I am keen to gather as many views as possible on potential interventions to inform the development of the White Paper, so today, I will confirm that we will be publishing and engaging on a Green Paper ahead of, and in order to inform, the White Paper. 

Deputy Llywydd, this Government is committed to using all the levers we have to help people in a sustainable manner to remain in their homes and avoid homelessness. The UK Government needs to take immediate action on reversing their outrageous freeze on the local housing allowance. Various Conservative Members have contributed to this debate, but I call on them once more to make very public their call on the UK Government to reinstate the local housing allowance. It is driving poverty in the sector and it does not help the landlords. The landlords would be better helped if the local housing allowance was at the right level as well. They would be better able to help their tenants. So, this is hurting everyone and helping no-one. I've again this week written to the UK Government calling on them to unfreeze and uplift the local housing allowance rates as part of them honouring their commitment to increase benefits in line with inflation. I really hope that we are not going to see this incredibly right-wing Government come down hard on benefit claimants at a point in time when they are clearly trying to increase the wealth of the wealthiest part of our population. It is absolutely unthinkable that they keep local housing rates frozen at a time when private rented sector rents are rising at the fastest rate in over a decade in many areas, and there's a significant gap between people's rental costs and the current rates being paid.

Compounding the failure to unfreeze and increase the local housing allowance is the cutting of other welfare budgets that are needed now more than ever. The discretionary housing payment budget can be used by local authorities to support people most affected by the benefit cuts, but this year, the Tory Government saw fit to cut that budget by approximately 27 per cent, or £2.3 million compared to last year. This is on top of a previous 18 per cent reduction. These are huge reductions in funding, and they exacerbate the plight of those already experiencing the cost-of-living crisis. I've previously called on the UK Government to reinstate these cuts. There's no indication that they will heed those calls, and I call on the Conservative benches here today to say publicly that they think that these cuts are wrong and should be reversed.

So, to conclude, Deputy Llywydd, we acknowledge the huge cost-of-living crisis faced by households across Wales. I've set out today in the short time available that we are and will continue to support people across Wales through this extraordinarily challenging time. We are accelerating our actions to better understand the potential impacts and consequences of additional measures, but we do not believe in bringing in measures without a robust evidence base, as we know that they can have very serious unintended consequences and lead to increased homelessness.

As always, Llywydd, I would like to end by extending my gratitude to all the people working in homelessness services across Wales. They have worked extraordinarily hard right through the pandemic and continuing on to make sure that, in Wales, everyone receives a service, unlike across the border—I'll just point that out: unlike across the border, everyone in Wales receives a service for homelessness, and we are doing our absolute damndest to make sure that people can stay safe and secure in their homes through this oncoming winter crisis. Diolch. 

Mabon ap Gwynfor now to respond to the debate. 

Thank you very much, Llywydd, and thank you to everyone who has contributed to the debate, which has been very interesting.  

I must say, listening to Janet Finch-Saunders's first contribution, and also Andrew R.T. Davies's, the irony that they recognised that the free market is absolutely failing our communities, and therefore they are calling for and demanding a state intervention on building houses, only then to see those social houses be sold back to the private sector—there's a certain irony there that is obviously missed. You want to see more social housing being built, which is state intervention—[Interruption.] Yes, I will take an intervention.

The point I interjected on with Mike Hedges was the ability to build more houses. We're only building about 6,000 a year when we know that we need 12,000. I didn't mention anything about state intervention whatsoever. 

Janet has just said 'more social housing', which is state intervention, which is coupled with what you said. [Interruption.] Okay. So, do you want to make an intervention, Janet?

Can I take an intervention?

No. You can make an intervention.

Yes, can I make an intervention? [Laughter.] I beg your pardon. Would you withdraw the comments that you've just made about landlords doing their properties up out of the public purse and then selling them on? That is not allowed. If you have one of the lease agreements with any local authority where they give you money—I think at the moment it's about £25,000—you have to pay that money back before you can sell your property. So, that does need to be taken back, because that's making out that private landlords are actually making money out of the public purse, and that is not correct. 

No, what we have seen once again is examples from this Government and from your own Government of public money being transferred to private pockets, and making sure that people who are already relatively wealthy are making more money off the back of working people—[Interruption.] That's the policy—

Okay, okay. Allow Mabon ap Gwynfor to carry on with his closing. 

That's the policy that you're perpetuating. Now, what we did hear as well, thanks to Luke's intervention and Sioned, was that they did mention the fact that what we need to do is protect people, not assets. Houses are homes. They are where people need to live; they are not the way for people to make profit, which is what the Tories have been propagating here. 

We heard from Sam Rowlands about empty homes—absolutely, we agree. We need to bring empty homes back into use again. And we heard a lot of ideas around empty homes, around developing social housing, and others. These are all long-term ideas. They don't deal with the crisis that we are facing today and they won't help those people that are facing evictions over the coming months over this winter period. 

Heledd referred to students and the fact that 60 per cent of their income goes on rent. I'm glad to say that NUS Wales/UCMC support this call today. Also, it's worth noting that the TUC are also supporting action on rent controls and rent freezes. In fact, two years ago, a TUC survey showed that 66 per cent of their members supported this motion, and only 8 per cent oppose it. 

Carolyn mentioned the post-war Clement Attlee Government. The thing with that post-war Government was that housing was then under the public health department. It shows the importance and ties in exactly with what Mike Hedges said about that link between poor housing and poor health. Mike also referenced Airbnb, and what we're finding at the moment is that landlords—different from what Sam said earlier that landlords are leaving the sector—yes, they're leaving the sector and they're going and transferring their property over to Airbnbs, or, in some cases, they're profiting from the high price value of houses. 

So, that's the situation we have, but the fact remains that everyone should be guaranteed high-quality, affordable housing, but this isn't the case here in Wales at the moment, and it's been exacerbated by the cost of living and housing crisis that's occurring at the moment. We're told that the first responsibility of a Government in a democratic society is to protect and safeguard the lives of its citizens. This is said at a time of conflict when we're at war—every time we hear of conflict, millions and billions of pounds are pumped into supporting and ensuring the safety of our citizens.  Well, this is the case today. We need to make sure that we defend and protect our citizens and make sure that they don't suffer because of homelessness, because they can't afford to have a roof above their heads.   

Would you give way on that point? 

Yes, I will. 

I agree with the sentiment entirely, but would you please respond to the points that are made in the Crisis UK report—and I draw, like the Member opposite, attention to my register of interests as well—where they say that the very measures being proposed carry a significant risk, in their words, of an immediate flood of notices to quit and increases in rent, a wave of rent rises and evictions, debt accrual of rent arrears by tenants, and negative impact on the supply of and access to private rented housing for those at the lowest end of the market? You have passion, you have great intentions, but Crisis is showing that the measures you are proposing will have negative consequences. 

We accept what Crisis are concerned about, and I believe I referenced that in my original comments. What we're saying is that while we accept that might happen in the future, we know it's going to happen now. We know people are being made homeless now, so we need steps to mitigate that situation. Now, we know also that these steps that we've referenced work in France, they work in Denmark, they have worked in Ireland as well. So, what you're asking is, because of your fear that something might happen—because of Crisis's and the Government's fear that something might happen—let's do nothing. That's what you're asking for.

Now, we can't—

Will you give way? 

No, I'm running out of time, I'm afraid, Huw. [Interruption.] Well, I am running out of time, I'm afraid, Huw. 

You don't have to accept the intervention. 

Well, I'm coming to—. I will accept, given that I have time. 

Okay. He's accepting the intervention. 

Thank you. Would you then respond to Crisis's observations on better ways to deal with exactly the issue that you are putting forward? I agree with your passion and I agree with the fact that we need to do everything we can. They've suggested other ways. What's your response to their alternative measures?

They have suggested some ideas that will help, and, at the moment, the Government haven't taken those ideas up and they're not delivering on them. Also, what we know is that people will be made homeless over the coming months, so we want to see action now to make sure that those people aren't made homeless, instead of maybe pushing it forward into the future. That's what we are proposing. A rent freeze would help deal with that. That's the truth of this matter. At the moment, there's no other alternative; there's no other suggestion coming from the Government or anybody else to deal with the crisis facing us today, and unless we take action today, then we know we will see more people being homeless. Fear is what's causing this inaction, and right now we can't afford inaction. You could do this; you could take action to save lives. We need to see that same conviction that your Government showed during the COVID crisis and that courage that you showed. We need to see that taken again today. As Sioned said, we need radical action and we can't stand by and do nothing. So, let's support this motion so that we can give the Government the leadership it needs to take action to mitigate the worst of the circumstances today. Thank you. 

The proposal is to agree the motion without amendment. Does any Member object? [Objection.] There are objections. We will, therefore, defer voting until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.