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14/7/25 8:13 pm
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The Welsh government has insisted its Rent Smart Wales scheme has had a positive impact on the PRS as it celebrates 10 years in operation.
Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant, believes it demonstrates how smart regulation can raise standards across an entire sector. “This anniversary marks ten years of effective regulation that has improved renting for all,” she says. “The independent evaluation confirms what we’ve seen in practice – higher standards, better-informed landlords, and stronger enforcement against those who break the rules.”
However, the NRLA has challenged the government on its evaluation findings, which highlighted both uneven enforcement levels and its ‘abrasive’ communication style. It says the report is too vague about what data has been used to assess whether Rent Smart Wales is being effective and that unless a Welsh Housing Survey is completed, doing so will always be difficult.
A spokesman tells LandlordZONE that it is increasingly concerned by the falling number of registered rental properties in Wales, as shown by Rent Smart Wales’ own data. “The Welsh government must pay close attention to this fall in supply and consider how policy decisions are influencing landlords’ decision-making as regards whether they stay in the market,” he says.
“Going forward, we would like to see a simplification of renewal processes for licenses and training. A reduction in administrative tasks will make compliance easier for small portfolio landlords and accidental landlords, whilst also allowing them to remain more engaged with the scheme.”
With 102,000 registered landlords, the national registration and licensing scheme for landlords and agents - which launched in November 2015 - is the biggest in the UK.
More than 216,000 rental properties are registered with Rent Smart Wales while more than 50,000 licences have been issued and over 200,000 people have attended training. Some 355 landlords and agents have been prosecuted and more than £53,600 secured via Rent Repayment Orders.
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