A leading Conservative has called out the continual demand by some MPs for the introduction of rent controls as “heavy-handed and economically illiterate”.

Janet Finch Saunders, as member of the Welsh Parliament, wrote an article for the National news website saying that the introduction of rent controls “have been proven time and time again to not only be ineffective at combatting the issue of affordability, but have actually been detrimental to the housing market.”

She backs up her comments by pointing out to the ‘uneducated’ that over the last few years rent increases across Wales have risen by just 1.7 per cent per year. The MP believes that by introducing such rent controls, rent increases would unintentionally be significantly higher than the current annual rent rise as many landlords will increase rents up to the ’enforced’ cap levels.

She further backs her claims by citing cases in Berlin and San Francisco when the caps imposed in the two cities actually caused a wave of rent increases, alongside an exodus of private landlords leaving renters with less choices and lower BTL investment.

Finch Saunders reiterates the long held view across the PRS that to reduce higher rents there is no other option than to increase new housing developments.

She is scathing of Labour’s history of failure in providing or encouraging sufficient new house builds in Wales, and its continual banging the drum for rent controls, even though it failed to include this in its manifestos before the last tranche of elections.

Finch Saunders continues: “To put it simply, Wales needs more houses. This task is looking to be an ever increasingly difficult one as the pandemic has affected supply chains across a range of industries affecting the housing sector.

“A potential combination of a reduced supply of housing due to landlords withdrawing out of the private rented sector and a further slowdown in house building due to the pandemic on top of Labour mismanagement, has the potential to create the perfect storm to further drive up rent and house prices.”

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