housing bill

	As most people are aware, there has been a substantial growth in private rented properties across Wales. As the number of council houses and flats are reduced, the private rented sector has filled some of the gap. There is currently a voluntary landlord accreditation scheme run by Cardiff Council on behalf of the 22 local authorities, and a key element of the new legislation is to establish a comprehensive online database of all private landlords and letting management agents in the private rented sector. After a private landlord or agent registers, they will then have to become accredited following attendance of an approved training scheme. Agents will have to join an approved body, and at least two thirds of their staff must be trained. We have some people who are bad landlords by default. They do not mean to be bad landlords; they just do not know enough to not be, and I think that this is an opportunity to solve that problem. It should improve standards in the private rented sector and provide more information on a landlord to local authorities.
	In Swansea, many landlords live far away from Swansea and have bought houses as investments. I do not think that it is asking too much for houses to be checked for gas, carbon monoxide, fire and electrical safety prior to being rented out. We need to raise the awareness of landlords and tenants of their respective rights and responsibilities. The Bill also sets out to allow councils to charge a higher rate of council tax on empty properties and allows housing associations to give assured tenancies and deals with the abolition of the housing revenue account subsidy, so a portion of the rent paid by council tenants will no longer be returned to the Treasury. The Bill seeks to prevent people from becoming homeless and builds on the work currently being done by local authorities on homelessness prevention, where Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council was identified as an example of best practice. The legislation aims to ensure greater emphasis on preventing homelessness, extending the help available and improving the services to those not considered to be in priority need, and to improve the ability of local authorities to offer secure accommodation via the private rented sector, which is becoming more and more important as the amount of council housing continues to reduce.
	The two major changes are that, from 2019, a local authority will be expected to secure accommodation for households with children even if they have been found to be intentionally homeless, but only for the first time in the past five years.
	In the committee, the most contentious part of the proposed legislation was the removal of the automatic right of all former prisoners to be given housing priority. If the legislation is successful, they will be assessed in the same way as all other applicants. This is a policy that I believe is fair and just. I do not believe that, just because someone is an ex-prisoner, they should have greater rights than anyone else. Everyone’s housing requirements should be assessed on their needs equally, and not on anything else. I also correct the false rumours circulating that applicants who are subject to immigration control are not eligible for assistance under the Housing Act 1996. The intended effect is that fewer households will suffer homelessness, that there will be better prevention work and increased help for those who currently receive limited assistance, and, more importantly, choices for those facing homelessness. Unless there is an increase in the quantity of rental accommodation, then all that is happening is a different way of sharing out rental accommodation. The third major part of the legislation proposes to place a new statutory duty on local authorities to provide new Gypsy and Traveller sites where need has been identified. As we know in Swansea, if official sites are not provided, unofficial sites will be created. The legislation aims to improve the standard of accommodation and to reduce illegal sites and unauthorised encampments. The fourth major part of the legislation sets standards for rent and service charges for local authority housing, ensuring that they are clearly and separately identified. The legislation intends to further facilitate the development of co-operative housing by allowing fully mutual housing co-operatives to grant assured tenancies, protecting the interests of lenders. Housing co-operatives, which, in some European countries, comprise up to 20% of all housing, provide around 1.1% in Britain. The housing co-operative model also provides a substantial amount of accommodation in north America. With a shortage of housing in Wales, I do not believe that we can allow this potential for providing accommodation not to be used. So, I hope that everybody will support this this afternoon.