Wales' tenants 'let down' by delay to new no-fault eviction rules

The Welsh government has been accused of letting tenants down after it delayed a new housing law.

Plans to extend the period of notice a landlord must give for a 'no-fault' eviction, from two months to six, were expected this July.

But under pressure from landlords, ministers, in part citing the war in Ukraine, moved the date to December.

Plaid Cymru said it risked giving time to "unscrupulous" private landlords to evict tenants.

Housing charity Shelter Cymru said it was seeing twice the number of tenants being subjected to the evictions, which can be issued by landlords for no reason.

But the move was welcomed by the National Residential Landlords Association, which said the original timetable was unrealistic and there had not been enough time for landlords to prepare.

The Renting Homes (Wales) Act was passed in 2016 to overhaul the law on the kinds of contracts landlords can given tenants, simplifying them to just two.

The law, which had not yet been implemented, was amended in 2021 to extend the period of time needed for a no-fault eviction.

It would also give new tenants a minimum of one year to live in their home, and places new rules on landlords to keep their homes in good repair.

In January the Welsh government announced that it would bring the partly six-year-old law into force in July of this year.

But in a statement to the Senedd, Climate Change Minister Julie James said the delay to 1 December this year "will allow more time for landlords" to prepare.

"I have over recent months received representations from landlords, and particularly social landlords, who have requested that implementation of the act be delayed," she wrote.

The minister said she was taking the decision "in the light of the unprecedented pressures they face, including Covid recovery and supporting those who are fleeing the war in Ukraine".

Acknowledging that the delay would be a "source of frustration", she said preparing new contracts and ensuring properties meet fitness standards set out in the legislation "are major undertakings, particular for those landlords responsible for a large number of properties and tenants".

Housing charity Shelter Cymru has pressed for changes to the law on no-fault evictions, arguing the current period of two months is not enough time to find somewhere else to live.

It had been concerned the delay between the end of the Coronavirus Act, which extended no fault evictions to six months as an emergency measure during the pandemic, and the new legislation, is a final opportunity to evict at short notice.

The organisation's CEO Ruth Power said Shelter Cymru was "frustrated" with the delay, and said it was already seeing a "spike" in no-fault evictions.

"Our casework shows 'no-fault' evictions have doubled compared to this time last year," she said.

"There is an urgent need to rebalance the rights of landlords and tenants so that people feel secure in their homes."

Plaid Cymru's co-operation deal with the Welsh government stipulates that the Renting Homes Act will be enacted.

The party's housing spokesman Mabon ap Gwynfor said: "For too many tenants, homelessness is too real a threat, and now we have a situation where eviction can happen very quickly through no fault of their own.

"Tenants need these protections now more than ever, and the Labour Welsh government has let them down."

Citizens Advice Cymru's head of policy Luke Young said the charity was "disappointed this long awaited housing reform has been delayed further".

It said 14,000 had approached them for support in the past year.

"A delay must not mean a free pass for rogue landlords," Mr Young added.

However, Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said it had "warned for some time that the Welsh government's timetable for implementation of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act was unrealistic and provided insufficient time for landlords to prepare.

"It is reassuring that landlords' concerns have been heeded, albeit late in the day."

Julie James' decision was also welcomed by the social housing sector in Wales.

Social housing group Community Housing Cymru called it a "sensible and pragmatic move". It called the new rules the "biggest change to tenancy law in a generation".

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies said the delay "demonstrates Labour's inability to enact their own legislation" and too many delays "will cause uncertainty for landlords and tenants in Wales".

The Welsh government declined to comment further.