Plaid Cymru, the party of Wales, has issued a manifesto with a clampdown on the private rental sector as one of its key policies.

Its manifesto for the July 4 poll says: “Within the private rental sector, we believe in a system of fair rents and rent control so that they are affordable to local people on local incomes, and that individuals and families are not priced out of the area where they currently live. Our proposed Right to Adequate Housing Bill in Wales would include powers to introduce rent controls and other market interventions to make housing more affordable.”

Plaid Cymru was in a loose alliance with Labour running the Welsh Government until recently, and focussed much of its policy making on raising council tax powers for councils with high volumes of holiday lets.

For the Westminster General Election, Plaid’s manifesto says: “We believe that everybody has the right to live within the community in which they were raised. Plaid Cymru has also supported a package of actions to tackle the challenge of second homes and holiday homes within our communities, with a substantial impact felt in Ynys Mon, Gwynedd and Pembrokeshire in particular where they make up a large amount of the available housing stock. 

“We have introduced powers for local authorities to require registration of a change of use for a property into a holiday home and  to introduce a cap on the number of second and holiday homes within a community. 

“Many local authorities in Wales have now introduced a council tax premium on second homes, where the additional funds raised are put towards development
of social housing for local residents. We are also looking to close loopholes which allow holiday homes to pretend to be legitimate lettings businesses, so that we can ensure that genuine self-catered accommodation businesses can be protected.”

In terms of other policies, Plaid wants what it calls a “fairer” tax system system with increased windfall taxes on energy companies, along with more control for the Welsh Government over its natural resources, and for powers over policing.

Plaid Cymru won four seats in Westminster at the last election in 2019. After boundary changes, Plaid is defending two constituencies – Dwyfor Meirionnydd and Ceredigion Preseli. It also hopes to fend off Labour and the Conservatives to gain another two target seats in Caerfyrddin and Ynys Mon.