A prominent supporter of landlords has accused Labour and nationalist politicians of making the supply shortage of private rental properties in Wales even worse.

Labour and Plaid Cymru, who have an alliance running the Welsh Government, want local limits on the numbers of holiday homes and additional properties in some areas, enforced through planning regulation changes.

Now Janet Finch-Saunders, shadow minister for housing in the Welsh Parliament, has worked with the National Residential Landlord Association to reveal that 26.8 per cent of landlords in Wales have sold property in the last 12 months, with 49 per cent of landlords planning to sell a property in the next 12 months.

Landlord repossessions have also been steadily increasing in Wales over the past year, up to 150 in the second quarter of 2022 compared to 78 in Q4 of 2021. 

Finch-Sanders says: “There are communities such as Caernarfon and Bangor in Gwynedd, Llangefni and Holyhead in Anglesey, and Milford Haven and Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, where providing a sufficient supply of rented accommodation is more important than limiting the numbers of second homes.

“The anti-multiple ownership policies stemming out of the Plaid Cymru and Welsh Labour cooperation government are driving private landlords out of the sector.

“At a time when residents are waiting years on housing lists, the spend on temporary accommodation is sky-rocketing, and not enough houses are being built, Wales needs to retain a strong rented accommodation sector.

“For years, I have warned the Welsh Government that this key component of our diverse property market was going to collapse, and now we have it.

“Welsh Government policy is acting as a tsunami driving landlords to sell up, repossess, and as such reduce the number of homes available on the market.”