Landlords are calling on the Welsh Government to rethink the decision to extend notice periods for possession to six months.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has described the decision as ‘draconian’ and has sent an open letter to Wales’ Minister for Housing & Local Government asking them to reconsider.
The extension – which does not include possession claims which cite anti-social behaviour – was made under the Coronavirus Act 2020’s emergency powers.
The decision was announced on Thursday 23 July, just hours before coming into force.
The NRLA letter follows the Senedd’s Legislation, Justice, and Constitution Committee report which severely criticised the decision and the way the Welsh Government went about making it, without consultation.
The report, released on 3 August, reflects the NRLA’s concern that the new six-month notice settlement has been brought in too hastily, especially since the Government has until October before the pre-existing three-month temporary notice extension expires.
NRLA Chief Executive Ben Beadle, said:
“Research carried out by NRLA since the beginning of this crisis has consistently shown that landlords and tenants have worked together constructively to sustain tenancies.
“We are calling on the government to reconsider its decision and develop a financial package to support landlords and tenants by offering interest free loans to allow tenants to cover their rent.
“Eviction is not the inevitable outcome of rent arrears, and the Welsh Government needs to work constructively with landlords who are already doing all they can to sustain tenancies.”
I have asked Mark Drakeford and Julie James to point me to where I claim Government compensation owed to me because of their decision that I house people rent-free for 6 months (on top of the rent-free periods rogue tenants gain from us because of anti-landlord legislation allowing them to stay for months on end even before this latest missive). Not received an answer yet. Strange. They need to tell me the procedure for claiming what amounts to thousands of pounds per case. If, on the other hand, they expect me to foot that bill, I want to know what their equivalent laws for supermarkets and utilities are. I’ve not seen the procedure for claiming 6 months of free food, gas, electricity, water and council tax (although some of our tenants get that free from us as well in shared houses).
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The Welsh Government certainly know how to give landlords a good kicking, the very same people they are desperate to hold onto as they have, just like the other devolved governments failed for decades to provide social housing needs and slowly hi-jacked PRS. This has been talked about for so long by everybody and nothing is done.
The Welsh Government have a track record of incompetence and wasn’t there calls for devolved governments to be scrapped as big white elephants costing £millions of tax payers money, just to cover administration fees.
6 Months with no redress for landlords is shocking, irresponsible and draconian is an understatement. Rogue tenants have been given a free for all, many were already milking the delay in possession process. Now landlords will have another 6 months of no rent, never ever going to get it, yet many who have mortgages are going to have arrears worries, many using as an income in their later years of life will go hungry …. who cares about them? Certainly not the Welsh Government. They will generate another sector of people in debt and poverty because the Labour ethos of rob those that have more, to give to those with less is more important. They forget without landlords they have no housing ……… add in the abolition of Sec 21 soon to come and landlords will leave in their droves.
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I decided some time ago to exit the PRS due to all the unfair changes that have headed our way, and am in the process of selling off each property now.
I’m not sure if that was your aim Drakeford and Co., but be very careful what you wish for. It’s not like you have an abundance of social housing to put them in is it?
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Great letter from the NRLA, and good to see strong support of landlords. They are right, the move by WG is totally without balance.
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