English: There is a dire shortage of properties to buy and rent. Everyone should be entitled to one. Everyone should be entitled to a home, and yet 25,000 properties in Wales stand empty. The reality of the impact of second homes was clear to me whilst visiting a village in north-west Wales, seeing the amount of unlived-in two and three-bedroom properties that would have made really good starter homes. Some, I was told, were holiday homes, but some - well, quite a few - were in a state of disrepair and just left. One was an extremely useful bungalow, which are in scarce supply in the community, and the community had tried to buy it from a resident who didn't live in the village, but he said he was keeping it as a retirement investment, even though he was of retirement age. Previously, I was aware of the term 'land banking', but what I saw was 'property banking' on a mass scale. To have so many empty properties wasted when there are so many people needing a roof over their head, a place to call home, is truly shocking. A right to a decent home, a proper education and healthcare is fundamental to well-being and what every person needs and deserves. Solutions, however, are complex and vary depending on areas, but there is no one size that fits all. And the definition of a second home is important. There is a difference between someone letting out a property as a holiday let, or someone having a property as a second home and just visiting occasionally. This must be balanced with the benefits that tourism brings, as we found. But, our focus must also be on the cost-of-living and housing crisis that will impact the vulnerable the most. The Bevan Foundation reported that the local housing allowance only covered 4 per cent of properties in Wales. It was frozen in 2016 and again in 2020. This is shameful of UK Government, who want to cut public service funding and benefits further. Some landlords are flipping to Airbnbs, as according to a Bevan Foundation report, in some areas, they can earn more in 10 weeks than they would on a full-time rental through the local housing allowance. And that is a central issue we face - the idea that homes are an asset for the wealthy to make a profit from rather than a right that everyone should be entitled to. There are many actions that need to be taken to reverse the damage that has been done since Thatcher. Tackling the number of second homes is just part of this. Rent controls, more social housing, and council house building - returning back to that again - will also be needed to protect tenants, while increasing the supply of housing. UK Government public sector funding over the last 12 years makes this much harder. Officers are overworked and overstretched, meaning planning takes longer. This goes back again to public service funding, to ensure that those that work in councils that have to deal with planning applications can actually get on with the job. I know the Minister is well aware of the challenges we face, and I trust that the Welsh Government will do what it can to address them. Thank you.
Welsh: Mae yna brinder enbyd o eiddo i'w brynu a'i rentu. Dylai fod gan bawb hawl i un. Dylai pawb gael hawl i gartref, ac eto mae 25,000 eiddo yng Nghymru yn wag. Roedd realiti effaith ail gartrefi'n glir i mi wrth ymweld â phentref yng ngogledd orllewin Cymru, a gweld nifer y tai gwag gyda dwy a thair ystafell wely a fyddai wedi gwneud cartrefi cyntaf da iawn. Dywedwyd wrthyf fod rhai yn gartrefi gwyliau, ond roedd rhai - wel, cryn dipyn ohonynt - wedi'u gadael mewn cyflwr gwael. Roedd un yn fyngalo hynod ddefnyddiol, sy'n brin yn y gymuned, ac roedd y gymuned wedi ceisio ei brynu gan breswylydd nad oedd yn byw yn y pentref, ond dywedodd ei fod yn ei gadw fel buddsoddiad ar gyfer ymddeol, er ei fod wedi cyrraedd oed ymddeol. Cyn hynny, roeddwn yn ymwybodol o'r term 'bancio tir', ond yr hyn a welais oedd 'bancio eiddo' ar raddfa fawr. Mae'r ffaith bod cymaint o eiddo gwag yn cael ei wastraffu pan fo cymaint o bobl angen to uwch eu pen, lle i'w alw'n gartref, yn wirioneddol frawychus. Mae hawl i gartref, addysg a gofal iechyd gweddus yn sylfaenol i lesiant ac mae pob person ei angen ac yn ei haeddu. Mae'r atebion, fodd bynnag, yn gymhleth ac yn amrywio yn dibynnu ar ardaloedd, ond nid oes un ateb sy'n addas i bob sefyllfa. Ac mae'r diffiniad o ail gartref yn bwysig. Mae gwahaniaeth rhwng rhywun yn gosod eiddo fel llety gwyliau, a rhywun sydd ag ail gartref ac yn ymweld yn achlysurol yn unig. Mae'n rhaid cydbwyso hyn â'r manteision a ddaw yn sgil twristiaeth, fel y gwelsom. Ond rhaid canolbwyntio hefyd ar yr argyfwng costau byw a'r argyfwng tai a fydd yn effeithio fwyaf ar y rhai agored i niwed. Dywedodd Sefydliad Bevan nad yw'r lwfans tai lleol ond yn gymwys ar gyfer 4 y cant o eiddo yng Nghymru. Cafodd ei rewi yn 2016 ac eto yn 2020. Mae'n gywilyddus fod Llywodraeth y DU wedi gwneud hynny, a'i bod am dorri cyllid gwasanaethau cyhoeddus a budd-daliadau ymhellach. Mae rhai landlordiaid yn newid i ddarparu llety Airbnb, oherwydd, yn ôl adroddiad Sefydliad Bevan, mewn rhai ardaloedd, gallant ennill mwy mewn 10 wythnos nag y byddent yn ei gael o rent amser llawn drwy'r lwfans tai lleol. Ac mae hwnnw'n fater pwysig sy'n ein hwynebu - y syniad fod cartrefi'n ased i'r cyfoethog wneud elw ohonynt yn hytrach na rhywbeth y dylai pawb fod â hawl iddynt. Mae yna lawer o gamau y mae angen eu cymryd i wrthdroi'r difrod a wnaed ers Thatcher. Rhan o hyn yn unig yw mynd i'r afael â nifer yr ail gartrefi. Bydd angen rheoli rhenti, mwy o dai cymdeithasol, ac adeiladu tai cyngor hefyd - i ddychwelyd at hynny eto - er mwyn diogelu tenantiaid, a chynyddu'r cyflenwad tai ar yr un pryd. Mae cyllid sector cyhoeddus Llywodraeth y DU dros y 12 mlynedd diwethaf yn gwneud hyn yn llawer anos. Mae swyddogion yn cael eu gorweithio a'u llethu, sy'n golygu bod cynllunio'n cymryd mwy o amser. Mae hyn yn ymwneud eto â chyllido gwasanaethau cyhoeddus, i sicrhau bod y rhai sy'n gweithio mewn cynghorau sy'n gorfod ymdrin â cheisiadau cynllunio yn gallu bwrw ymlaen â'r gwaith mewn gwirionedd. Rwy'n gwybod bod y Gweinidog yn ymwybodol iawn o'r heriau sy'n ein hwynebu, ac rwy'n hyderus y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru'n gwneud ei gorau glas i fynd i'r afael â hwy. Diolch.