In an announcement, finance secretary Mark Drakeford confirmed that the 3% tax rate on additional residential properties will continue to be applied in Wales, even after stamp duty land tax is devolved in April 2018.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that the tax charge will generate £9m in 2016-17 in Wales, rising to £14m in 2020-21.

The proceeds generated will be used to fund public services in Wales.

Defending the continuation of the scheme, Mr Drakeford said: “The vital revenue generated will continue to help fund our valued public services.

“It is important we use the opportunity of tax devolution to consider whether changes can be made to improve efficiency, effectiveness and create a focus on Welsh needs and priorities.

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"We will continue to explore the suggestions put forward by stakeholders about how this higher rate can be adapted through secondary legislation to meet Wales’ circumstances.”

However, Mark Hayward, managing director of NAEA, and David Cox, managing director of Association of Residential Letting Agents, disputed the idea that the changes worked in the interests of buy-to-let landlords or renters.

“We are disappointed that the Welsh government has decided to take this decision and followed the rest of the UK in implementing this punitive regime for buy-to-let landlords.

“We have been highly supportive of the new devolved tax regime in Wales precisely because it was a way that it could set its own tax agenda that works best for the housing sector in the region.

“In continuing with the surcharge, the Welsh government is not making the most of its new powers [to] increase the supply of homes that Wales so desperately needs.

“The measures will lead to increased rent prices through a fall in supply and increasing demand.

“Tenants will also see additional costs passed on to them, as landlords look for ways to increase the profitability of their properties in the face of spiralling expenses.

“Ultimately, this will lead to sub-standard accommodation as money, previously used for the up keep of homes, will be swallowed up in tax payments.”