First of all, can I thank Christine Chapman for the way she chaired the investigation and the evidence that we took. I think the committee went through a very detailed investigation and came up with a large number of recommendations. I’m happy to support the general principles of the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill and I’m sure the Minister was pleased to see that the first recommendation of the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee was that it recommends that the Assembly agrees the general principles of the Bill; she might have even been slightly relieved.
There are two distinct rental markets. First is the high-cost, high-quality, generally short-term rental properties, where there are usually no problems. The second is the lower cost end of the sector, which provides housing that, 40 years ago, would have been provided by the local council or by halls of residence for students. The committee made 37 recommendations, but I intend to concentrate solely on four of them.
The first one is an issue that I raised in 2011, and that is electrical safety. Recommendation 30 calls for provision and installation of carbon monoxide and smoke alarms and for the periodic inspection of electrical wiring to be mandatory in rental properties. Carbon monoxide, fire and poorly maintained electrics can, and have, led to deaths. I believe we should support hardwired smoke alarms. We know that electrical sources are the biggest causes of fires in Welsh homes. I believe we should have five-yearly electrical safety checks in the Welsh private rented sector; it’s going to keep people alive. This is not asking for something unusual or particularly expensive, or onerous. Scotland has already done it.
I also have concerns, which I hope the Minister can allay, regarding contracts for 16 and 17-year-olds. Currently, when 16 and 17-year-olds have accommodation, it’s underwritten by a responsible adult, sometimes a parent, but often social services. My concern is that if 16 and 17-year-olds have their own tenancy and manage to organise their own utilities, very hard-pressed social services departments and social workers may decide that they may no longer need support; they’re looking after themselves. I know this is not a responsibility of the housing Minister, but can she say whether she has discussed this with the Minister for social services, and if there will be advice to social services departments, provided by the relevant Minister after the Bill becomes an Act? It really does concern me—everything is sorted, they’ve got a house and they’ve got their utilities, so why should social services still be involved? Well, for a lot of 16 and 17-year-olds, in that state, they’re quite often very vulnerable.
The third issue I want to discuss is retaliatory evictions. When the committee first started to gather views on this, I expected it to be wholly about tenants’ complaints about the need for repairs and landlords then going for evictions. Can I strongly urge the Minister to amend the Bill to include a rebuttal presumption that an eviction is retaliatory in cases where it occurs after a contract holder has registered a complaint with a landlord about the condition of the property? At committee, we were also told that a retaliatory eviction had taken place because the tenants gave evidence in court against a landlord. The landlord took it upon himself then to take action against the tenant. This has to be a cause for concern, not just in terms of housing, but in terms of the way the law is. If people feel they’re about to lose their home if they give evidence against a landlord taking action, I think the likelihood is that very many people will not actually give evidence when they should.
Finally, what quality of homes should people expect? Having dealt with constituents who have houses neither wind nor waterproof, which are very expensive to heat due to poorly fitting single glazed windows, and are damp, does this constitute fit for human habitation, because these properties keep the NHS busy? I fully support the ambition of the Bill, and if my constituents end up in safe, warm and dry properties, then it will have succeeded in improving their lives, and also, as a by-product, it will have reduced demand on the health service.
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