Letting agents throughout Wales face the very real possibility of a ban on fees, together with the introduction of rent controls.
Both have been pledged by Plaid Cymru in its election manifesto for next month’s Welsh Assembly elections.
None of the other parties has yet published its manifesto.
The current make-up of the Welsh Assembly is: Labour (30 out of 60 MPs); Conservative (14); Plaid Cymru (11); Lib Dem (5). Because of the balance of power, with Labour holding half of the seats, it has close political ties with Plaid Cymru.
The lettings sector in Wales is already facing the challenge and costs of compulsory licensing.
Douglas Haig, the Residential Landlords Association director for Wales, said: “Plaid’s proposals for rental housing would take us back to the past.
“They are a one-way street to fewer and poorer quality homes for rent, with tenants facing higher, not lower, rents.
“There is a wealth of evidence from all around the world that all rent controls do is shrink the rented sector, making it more difficult and more expensive for tenants to find accommodation.”
Comments (2)
why stop there? Why not pick on solicitors – ever tried to find their fees advertised or been surprised at the end of a transaction (disbursements?)? Or garages – how much? Sharp intake of breath, “depends what we find when we take the spigot off!” Or Waitrose, why don’t they publish what I’m going to spend at the entrance?
For goodness sake politicians if you want tenants dealt with correctly, if you want us to enforce your ever growing list of legislation – LEAVE US ALONE to get on with our jobs otherwise we might start interfering with yours!
But they are playing politics! This means they can be stupid