Rent Smart Wales have closed their landlord helpline service due to staff shortages. The National Residential Landlords’ Association (NRLA) have been calling for Rent Smart Wales reform and improvement.
Commenting on the news, Welsh Conservative Shadow Housing Minister, Janet Finch-Saunders MS said:
“This has come about as a result of a failure by Rent Smart Wales to recruit enough staff to man their lines. So severe is this failure, that they have had to close the lines altogether, depriving landlords of a vital service.
“Landlords need to be able to resolve specific queries promptly, so they can provide safe and compliant housing for the benefit of their tenants. The NRLA and landlords across Wales are rightly fuming that they are now unable to speak to an actual human on the other end of the line. Rent Smart Wales need to get their act together and fill these vacancies.
“We should certainly be looking at reforming the authority. I agree with the NRLA’s view on this and that given the plummeting availability of rental properties, the Labour Government need to do far more to support good, responsible landlords.”
Rent Smart Wales is the central licensing authority for landlord and rental property registration in Wales and is run in partnership by the 22 Local Authorities in Wales.
