THE cost of renting in Wales has only gone one way — and that’s up. Soaring rents, widespread housing precarity, and an imbalance of power between tenants and landlords have pushed many to the edge. Yet, despite the urgent need for change, the Welsh government’s action on housing has failed to seriously consider one of the most obvious solutions: rent controls.

Instead of acknowledging rent controls as a viable way of easing the burden on renters, the Welsh government’s white paper “on securing a path towards Adequate Housing, including Fair Rents and Affordability,” launched in October 2024, dismisses them based on a lack of evidence.

But here’s the truth: renters are struggling and the private rental sector is broken. We don’t need more data to know that private rents have skyrocketed and that people are being priced out of their own communities. The Welsh government’s refusal to act is a glaring failure to address the core issue.

The white paper, launched in October 2024, has largely ignored rent controls. Rent controls are only mentioned nine times in the entire 68-page document, and even then, they are brushed aside without much serious consideration.

The white paper claims that the evidence base for rent controls is insufficient, and that more data is needed before any action is taken. No investigation is made into the different types of rent control on offer, how they’ve been implemented outside of Britain, and how mistakes can be mitigated.

Simply adding more data to the pile won’t solve a thing. The Welsh government’s insistence on data-gathering exercises only delays meaningful change, while renters continue to bear the brunt of a market designed to extract profit from them. More data won’t make housing more affordable — action will.

Critics of rent controls often point to examples like Scotland’s temporary rent cap as proof that such policies don’t work. But the Scottish experience is not a fair representation of what rent controls could look like in Wales.

As Future Economy Scotland have highlighted, Scotland’s rent cap was an example of “first-generation” rent control — “a blunt, nominal freeze” that applied only to in-tenancy rent increases. This created a loophole where landlords hiked rents between tenancies, undermining the entire system. Of course, this didn’t work.

But that’s not what rent controls need to be. Advocates of rent controls are talking about second-generation systems — policies that regulate rent increases in a controlled manner, often linked to inflation or average income growth. Moreover, rent control that applies between tenancies is crucial to ensure that landlords can’t jack up rents. 

This works in cities around the world, and could work in Wales too, if the government stopped ignoring the evidence in front of it.

It’s not hard to see why the Welsh government is shying away from rent controls. The voices it has listened to most are those of landlords — stakeholders who stand to lose from any kind of regulation. The landlord lobby, unsurprisingly, opposes rent controls because it threatens their profits. 

The idea that moderating rent increases is “anti-business” is a tired narrative. Soaring rents hurt the economy by squeezing household budgets, increasing poverty, and destabilising communities. Rent controls, on the other hand, would create a more stable, equitable housing market — one that works for both tenants and businesses. By ensuring that rents stay affordable, tenants would have more disposable income, creating a healthier, more dynamic economy.

But what if landlords sell up? Then more properties become available for potential first-time homeowners. The houses won’t disappear. The biggest worry is that landlords sell to the landlord arm of big banks or asset managers like BlackRock. There’s a space for government to intervene here and prevent this from happening.

The key to rent control’s success lies in its design. With the right policies in place, rent controls can be an important tool.

But rent controls cannot be the only policy; they need to be part of a broader package. The Welsh government must also invest in building new homes, offer stronger protections for tenants, and ensure that housing is treated as a public good, not an addition to a property portfolio. 

The Welsh government’s failure to act on rent controls is a stark reminder of how disconnected it has become from the needs of ordinary people. Renters in Wales are living in crisis, and the government’s reluctance to address the root causes of the housing problem only prolongs the misery.

We cannot afford to wait for more data, more studies, or more consultations. Renters need action, and rent controls offer a proven solution.

The Welsh government must stop listening to the landlord lobby and start listening to the people who are struggling to find a safe, affordable place to live.

Rent controls, if implemented thoughtfully, could make a significant difference in the lives of countless Welsh tenants. It’s time for the government to act before the crisis becomes even worse.

Luke Fletcher is Plaid Cymru member of the Senedd for South Wales West.