The Green Party has released details of its first manifesto for the May elections – and it shows a fiercely anti-landlord stance.
The manifesto for the 2026 Welsh Senedd election, to be held on May 7, contains a series of pledges about the private rental market.
Many seek to copy the provisions of Labour’s Renters Rights Act which comes into force in England next month.
The Greens in Wales want:
Rent controls, with the manifesto saying: “We will introduce a one-year rent freeze, including between tenancies, to provide immediate relief. This will be followed by rent controls, allowing Welsh Ministers to approve local authority Rent Pressure Zones where rent caps apply to keep housing affordable. Rent increases will only be permitted where landlords deliver genuine improvements to homes, particularly upgrades that improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions”;
A ban on Section 21 evictions;
A non-specific pledge to “stabilise rents and give tenants the protections they deserve”;
A ban on rental bidding wars “with penalties of up to £7,000 for accepting offers above the listed price”;
The creation of an independent Housing Ombudsman “to resolve disputes and challenge unfair charges”;
An extension of the existing Welsh Housing Quality Standard to the private sector “with stronger protections against damp, mould and unsafe conditions”;
Ensuring landlords cannot unreasonably refuse tenants the right to keep pets;
“Clarify landlords’ responsibilities to act on delivering reasonable adjustments for disabled tenants in properties which should include appropriate facilities for washing and bathing”;
The existing Rent Smart Wales enforcement agency “will collect and publish rental data so local authorities can monitor rents and enforce caps effectively.”
GarySmith2021 on
I’m curious what happens if the rent controls are below the costs of the property.
Also, won’t this heavily reduce renting stock?
Remmick2326 on
“labour aren’t doing enough for the people, so we’re copying their legislation because it’s helping the people”
EasyTumbleweed1114 on
If they want to do stuff like this, which I am not necessarily against, they need to match this with a massive expansion of social housing, their pledged 150k a year us nowhere close to enough, we need 50s levels of millions a year.
sillysimon92 on
Rent control sounds anti capitalism till you realise that cheaper rents mean pay doesn’t need to rise as quickly.
initiali5ed on
Really this needs to be backed up with a mechanism for increasing council housing stock, two ways of doing this without building: cap inheritance at one residence/property per deceased with the rest going back to council stock or bring rental properties of non-compliant landlords into council ownership.
Zealousideal-Yam3169 on
Can we get mortgage rate controls too then to make sure they don’t go up?
AgeOfCardiff on
The utter ignorance in this thread is why the UK is in the state it’s in.
Any action to actually improve anything is met by hoards of people who repeat right wing buzzwords without any thought.
Greens would combine this with significantly increasing social housing building (Greens aimed for 150,000 per year in their 2024 manifesto). This would be an incredible bonus to the economy lowering private rent/house prices, decreasing poverty and boosting disposable income for many.
Between 1945 and 1980 we built 125,000 social homes per year, but for some reason many in here say it’s now too expensive and not possible. Get your heads out the sand.
Edit: One person commented this in response to saying we could do it after WW2 but not now?
>So all we need is huge amount of the population to die
Utterly braindead.
skinnydog0-0 on
If huge numbers of renters are paying 60+% of their income in rent there is very little for them to spend in the rest of the economy.
It’s a vicious circle that drives the majority in to poverty and increases the wealth gap.
If people don’t have money to spend in the economy- the country will die.
Coupled with the push for AI where are people going to work?
Chosty55 on
My only concern with rent controls is we go 4 years, a new party get in who are heavily lobbied by property moguls, and rents play catchup.
erbr on
This is the kind of thing you get when people use what is an essential need (housing) as a business. People that live in the city should be able to default to own a house but unfortunately people are pushed to rentals.
Does renting makes sense? Yes, for short stays, student accommodation, temporary housing but not on the long term.
How can you address this? Make it super expensive to own a house where you don’t live at. Make it easier to sell and buy houses when buying for main living place or selling for the same end. Set max rents per location and sqm. If it’s not profitable, sell it.
TheWorldIsGoingMad on
All of these ideas are utter cobblers by well meaning and idealistic, but totally naïve, people.
You cannot buck the market, simples.
Rent controls means less rental accommodation.
Making life harder for landlords means fewer landlords, and less accommodation, which would normally mean higher prices. But if landlords are restricted from increasing rents that’d mean even less rental accommodation available
bogart991 on
The housing crisis is fundamentally a failure of supply and demand: stagnating construction at the low end of the market cannot keep pace with high net migration. Despite this, open discussion of population growth is often stifled by accusations of prejudice. Proposed policies, such as those from the Green Party, offer popular soundbites but historically lead to reduced rental stock and higher costs. A serious approach would prioritize planning reform and sustainable immigration levels, yet political parties will currently favors short-term rhetoric over structural solutions.
Equal_Tadpole2716 on
I’m sure ‘Landlord Today’ will have an impartial view on the topic.
aigroti on
I think you could set a rule that no person or company is allowed to own more than 2 residential properties. Two to allow people who are in the process of selling a house while they bought another and also because while people may grumble I think it’s okay to allow the odd person to have their holiday home.
Probably taxed or having fees in some way so that companies trying to set up multiple subsidiaries is not commercially viable.
Someone trying to rent out a single property is not normally economically feasible for a lot of people because they don’t have the overhead when there’s missed payments due to the boiler not working or no one in the property.
However I also think it’s also okay to allow property developers to keep apartment complexes they built for renting but it has to be owned all by one company. So they can build it and then rent it out themselves. They can sell each individual apartment but it will be difficult for other people to rent out a single flat.
Allowing flats to be owned by one company forces them to take accountability/responsibility as well as most younger people moving to the city likely could still want to rent if they might be moving around. It also gives a small financial incentive for the property developer to build more as the only way to access properties to rent out.
apple_kicks on
They did this in Netherlands and saw big boost in first time buyers because sell off from landlords
StraightAd5770 on
It’s wild how many people dismiss building social housing as impossible when we did it consistently for decades. The Greens’ plan to combine rent controls with a massive construction push is the kind of joined-up thinking we desperately need. Just freezing rents without addressing supply would be a disaster, but this two-pronged approach actually tackles the root causes. We’ve got to move past the lazy, right-wing talking points and support real solutions.
Bolvaettur on
Nice unbiased reporting from slumlordtoday I’m sure
coffeewalnut08 on
Their proposals sound like Labour’s Renters Rights Act…
infinitemagicthings on
All the people who are against this are beyond help this new could be Greens want to give free money to everyone and they would still have an issue. You see it with MAGA and the British right wing are the same it’s not the policy’s it’s the fact it’s left wing and that’s all there is to it.
cosully111 on
Reddit claims itself to be full of intellectuals but basically every study ever done on rent control has concluded that it is a mistake. It nearly always leads to a reduced housing supply, deteriorating housing quality and higher rents in the uncontrolled market. People get locked into living in their cheap apartment as moving (even for a higher paying job) would typically be a financial negative overall
21 commenti
The Green Party has released details of its first manifesto for the May elections – and it shows a fiercely anti-landlord stance.
The manifesto for the 2026 Welsh Senedd election, to be held on May 7, contains a series of pledges about the private rental market.
Many seek to copy the provisions of Labour’s Renters Rights Act which comes into force in England next month.
The Greens in Wales want:
Rent controls, with the manifesto saying: “We will introduce a one-year rent freeze, including between tenancies, to provide immediate relief. This will be followed by rent controls, allowing Welsh Ministers to approve local authority Rent Pressure Zones where rent caps apply to keep housing affordable. Rent increases will only be permitted where landlords deliver genuine improvements to homes, particularly upgrades that improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions”;
A ban on Section 21 evictions;
A non-specific pledge to “stabilise rents and give tenants the protections they deserve”;
A ban on rental bidding wars “with penalties of up to £7,000 for accepting offers above the listed price”;
The creation of an independent Housing Ombudsman “to resolve disputes and challenge unfair charges”;
An extension of the existing Welsh Housing Quality Standard to the private sector “with stronger protections against damp, mould and unsafe conditions”;
Ensuring landlords cannot unreasonably refuse tenants the right to keep pets;
“Clarify landlords’ responsibilities to act on delivering reasonable adjustments for disabled tenants in properties which should include appropriate facilities for washing and bathing”;
The existing Rent Smart Wales enforcement agency “will collect and publish rental data so local authorities can monitor rents and enforce caps effectively.”
I’m curious what happens if the rent controls are below the costs of the property.
Also, won’t this heavily reduce renting stock?
“labour aren’t doing enough for the people, so we’re copying their legislation because it’s helping the people”
If they want to do stuff like this, which I am not necessarily against, they need to match this with a massive expansion of social housing, their pledged 150k a year us nowhere close to enough, we need 50s levels of millions a year.
Rent control sounds anti capitalism till you realise that cheaper rents mean pay doesn’t need to rise as quickly.
Really this needs to be backed up with a mechanism for increasing council housing stock, two ways of doing this without building: cap inheritance at one residence/property per deceased with the rest going back to council stock or bring rental properties of non-compliant landlords into council ownership.
Can we get mortgage rate controls too then to make sure they don’t go up?
The utter ignorance in this thread is why the UK is in the state it’s in.
Any action to actually improve anything is met by hoards of people who repeat right wing buzzwords without any thought.
Greens would combine this with significantly increasing social housing building (Greens aimed for 150,000 per year in their 2024 manifesto). This would be an incredible bonus to the economy lowering private rent/house prices, decreasing poverty and boosting disposable income for many.
Between 1945 and 1980 we built 125,000 social homes per year, but for some reason many in here say it’s now too expensive and not possible. Get your heads out the sand.
Edit: One person commented this in response to saying we could do it after WW2 but not now?
>So all we need is huge amount of the population to die
Utterly braindead.
If huge numbers of renters are paying 60+% of their income in rent there is very little for them to spend in the rest of the economy.
It’s a vicious circle that drives the majority in to poverty and increases the wealth gap.
If people don’t have money to spend in the economy- the country will die.
Coupled with the push for AI where are people going to work?
My only concern with rent controls is we go 4 years, a new party get in who are heavily lobbied by property moguls, and rents play catchup.
This is the kind of thing you get when people use what is an essential need (housing) as a business. People that live in the city should be able to default to own a house but unfortunately people are pushed to rentals.
Does renting makes sense? Yes, for short stays, student accommodation, temporary housing but not on the long term.
How can you address this? Make it super expensive to own a house where you don’t live at. Make it easier to sell and buy houses when buying for main living place or selling for the same end. Set max rents per location and sqm. If it’s not profitable, sell it.
All of these ideas are utter cobblers by well meaning and idealistic, but totally naïve, people.
You cannot buck the market, simples.
Rent controls means less rental accommodation.
Making life harder for landlords means fewer landlords, and less accommodation, which would normally mean higher prices. But if landlords are restricted from increasing rents that’d mean even less rental accommodation available
The housing crisis is fundamentally a failure of supply and demand: stagnating construction at the low end of the market cannot keep pace with high net migration. Despite this, open discussion of population growth is often stifled by accusations of prejudice. Proposed policies, such as those from the Green Party, offer popular soundbites but historically lead to reduced rental stock and higher costs. A serious approach would prioritize planning reform and sustainable immigration levels, yet political parties will currently favors short-term rhetoric over structural solutions.
I’m sure ‘Landlord Today’ will have an impartial view on the topic.
I think you could set a rule that no person or company is allowed to own more than 2 residential properties. Two to allow people who are in the process of selling a house while they bought another and also because while people may grumble I think it’s okay to allow the odd person to have their holiday home.
Probably taxed or having fees in some way so that companies trying to set up multiple subsidiaries is not commercially viable.
Someone trying to rent out a single property is not normally economically feasible for a lot of people because they don’t have the overhead when there’s missed payments due to the boiler not working or no one in the property.
However I also think it’s also okay to allow property developers to keep apartment complexes they built for renting but it has to be owned all by one company. So they can build it and then rent it out themselves. They can sell each individual apartment but it will be difficult for other people to rent out a single flat.
Allowing flats to be owned by one company forces them to take accountability/responsibility as well as most younger people moving to the city likely could still want to rent if they might be moving around. It also gives a small financial incentive for the property developer to build more as the only way to access properties to rent out.
They did this in Netherlands and saw big boost in first time buyers because sell off from landlords
It’s wild how many people dismiss building social housing as impossible when we did it consistently for decades. The Greens’ plan to combine rent controls with a massive construction push is the kind of joined-up thinking we desperately need. Just freezing rents without addressing supply would be a disaster, but this two-pronged approach actually tackles the root causes. We’ve got to move past the lazy, right-wing talking points and support real solutions.
Nice unbiased reporting from slumlordtoday I’m sure
Their proposals sound like Labour’s Renters Rights Act…
All the people who are against this are beyond help this new could be Greens want to give free money to everyone and they would still have an issue. You see it with MAGA and the British right wing are the same it’s not the policy’s it’s the fact it’s left wing and that’s all there is to it.
Reddit claims itself to be full of intellectuals but basically every study ever done on rent control has concluded that it is a mistake. It nearly always leads to a reduced housing supply, deteriorating housing quality and higher rents in the uncontrolled market. People get locked into living in their cheap apartment as moving (even for a higher paying job) would typically be a financial negative overall