TAI 2015 Conference Special
TAI 2015 runs from April 28 to 30 at Cardiff City Hall. The programme features plenary sessions covering everything from divergence in UK housing policy to grassroots activism. Look out too for conversations with Sian James MP and CIH chief executive designate Terrie Alafat and the final of Rising Stars Cymru 2015. This preview concentrates on some of the key themes at TAI: legislation, innovations in delivery, diversity and leadership and telling stories.
Reforming renting
Communities and tackling poverty minister Lesley Griffiths introduces the new legal framework for renting in Wales. Coverage of the detail of the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill follows
HOUSING HAS A HUGE EFFECT on people’s health, education and employment. Having a safe, secure and affordable place to live is the fabric which makes up people’s lives and builds strong communities.
Government must do all it can to help people meet their housing needs. It must intervene where necessary and sensible to do so, to ensure our housing system is as effective as possible and provide help to those who need it.
As many people across Wales and the Wales, the Bill will require every landlord in Wales to provide the people renting their property with a straightforward written statement of their contract. This will help avoid disputes later on by ensuring both landlords and those renting are aware of their rights and responsibilities from the outset.
We will make model contracts freely available for landlords and tenants. The greater consistency between contracts will also make it easier for people to understand their rights and seek help and rest of the UK, struggle to get their foot on the housing ladder – either because of problems with securing a mortgage or saving a big enough deposit – more people rent their home than ever before.
Today, one in three people live in a rented property. Therefore our rented housing sector must be fit for purpose. For most people, renting a home works well. However, too many people encounter problems, many of which arise from the complexity of current law.
It is for these reasons, I have introduced ground-breaking legislation to reform the rented housing sector. The Renting Homes (Wales) Bill will make it simpler and easier to rent a home. It builds on five years’ work by the Law Commission and sets out a new legal basis for renting, bringing much greater clarity and fairness.
The Bill will improve and simplify the arrangements for renting homes by replacing many different and complex pieces of legislation with one main piece of legislation. It will also replace the huge number of different types of tenancies and licences with just two types of contract. The secure contract will be the default contract issued by local authorities and registered social landlords, while the standard contract will be the default for private landlords.
If passed by the National Assembly for Wales, the Bill will require every landlord in Wales to provide the people renting their property with a straightforward written statement of their contract. This will help avoid disputes later on by ensuring both landlords and those renting are aware of their rights and responsibilities from the outset.
We will make model contracts freely available for landlords and tenants. The greater consistency between contracts will also make it easier for people to understand their rights and seek help and advice when needed. The Bill will also help people who find themselves in difficult circumstances. It will help protect victims of domestic abuse by ensuring the perpetrators can be evicted from the home, without ending the contract for the victim. This will end the current situation whereby victims of domestic abuse can find themselves without a home through no fault of their own.
The Bill also introduces a greater level of flexibility. This will make it easier for people to rent short-term and encourage landlords to rent to people they are
unlikely to do so at present, such as someone on housing benefit. The Bill will also enable 16 and 17 year olds to rent their own property for the first time.
I look forward to the scrutiny of the Bill by the National Assembly for Wales. We hope it will make a difference to over one million people in Wales and create a modern and successful rented housing sector.