Welsh Green Party proposes rent controls and financial penalties for landlords

The Welsh Green Party has pledged to introduce rent controls and abolish no-fault evictions ahead of the upcoming elections.

Launching its manifesto, the party says it will strengthen tenants’ rights in Wales, adding that landlords who breach rent caps would face financial penalties of up to £7,000.

The manifesto has been unveiled in the run-up to the Senedd elections on 7 May.

Rents are unaffordable

Anthony Slaughter, leader of the Wales Green Party, said in its manifesto: “Failing Labour, in Wales and in Westminster, has let Wales down.

“For too long, Wales has been ripped off. We can do so much better. The status quo, run for the wealthy establishment, has to end.

“Rents are unaffordable, while buying somewhere to live is a pipe dream for young people. Our young people struggle to find decent-paying jobs, often forced to leave their communities. It feels like we’re paying more and more every day while getting less and less back.

“We can freeze rents. We can replace the unfair council tax. We can cut bus fares and we can ramp up investment in switching to a green economy.”

Landlords face financial penalties

The Welsh Green Party housing manifesto includes pledges to “create a fairer rental market” by banning no-fault evictions and rental bidding wars, with landlords facing penalties of up to £7,000 for accepting offers above the listed price.

Other commitments include extending the Welsh Housing Quality Standard to the private sector, alongside stronger protections against damp, mould and unsafe conditions. The party also says landlords would not be able to unreasonably refuse tenants the right to keep pets.

The party says it will launch a 10-year programme to deliver 60,000 affordable homes. It plans to do this by using compulsory purchase powers to bring long-term empty properties into public housing stock, and by expanding the Social Housing Grant.

The Green Party claims this would allow local authorities and Registered Social Landlords to purchase homes, build new social housing, and bring empty or derelict buildings back into use.