The Welsh government is planning to make changes to the notice period for eviction which would see tenants given 12-month contracts by default.
Currently, under Section 173 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, private landlords cannot repossess properties in the first six months of a tenancy.
There is then a two-month notice period before they can serve an eviction notice.
However, last week Welsh housing minister Julie James AM laid out plans to extend the notice period to six months, meaning landlords will have to wait a year by default before being able to repossess their property.
The Welsh government is now set to consult on whether to increase the minimum notice period of Section 173 - the equivalent to Section 21 in England - from two months to six months.
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) says it is 'scandalous' the government is planning such changes without first reforming possession routes for the vast majority of landlords who have legitimate reasons to repossess their properties.
It says the new rules could leave landlords 'powerless' when it comes to problem tenants, who will be 'legally allowed' to stay in the property for a year.
"If tenants are not paying rent, huge arrears could build up in this time," explains Douglas Haig, RLA vice chair and director for Wales.
"We will be warning government that this move could cause serious damage to landlord confidence and the availability of homes to rent in Wales, at a time when demand continues to increase."
"The government needs to ensure that landlords with a genuine need to regain possession of their properties are able to do so," he says.
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Good luck being a tenant soon !!
How long before the PRS vanishes! I wonder if the Social Rental Sector will have the same attached to it?
Glad we don't own any residential rental properties in Wales but sorry we still do in England that is going the same was fast and in some ways probably already worse.
They REALLY don't want us to own or rent out properties do they? I bet there are all various backdoor attempts to temporarily suppress the value of PRS housing while more an more scared-off and increasingly fleeced and shafted private landlords exit the market and larger "social" housing companies (who can cope with these nonsense regulations due to their size and internal low-cost resources) mop-up all the properties cheaply....? Perhaps?
We steadily sold off our ex-council flats in Pimlico (Westminster) so we could concentrate on a smaller radius around where we live in south west London. We expected first-time buyers and "better paid "key sector workers" (provided sharing or dual income households) to snap them up as they were cheap and actually not bad and not in the middle of problem estates or anything, and probably about 35% - 40% of the flats in the same blocks were already owned by largely young middle class professional types anyhow..... but not a bit of it! ALL bought one by one by private "social housing" companies and associations!
I'm willing to bet these larger firms are quietly lobbying for all this - not just the politically motivated fools at Shelter etc. and they probably all know they can expect special status and exemptions from much, if not all, these disastrous new rules just like full-on council (and church) owned properties already are to an extent.
They're having a laugh if you think about it!
Shame on the Welsh Govt, although what else would you expect from a Labour government.
Landlords need to respond by going on DSS Tenant strike.
How long do you think it would take before the Welsh Assembly went into melt-down ?
Well I'm deleveraging to become unencumbered.
Only tenants that qualify for RGI or their possible guarantor does will be accepted if I can't source such tenants the property will remain empty.
No way will I risk letting without RGI.
I read somewhere that some idiot reckons you can achieve possession in 3 months!!!!!!!!!!!??????
Clearly a very deluded chap!!
Welsh LL would do well to sell up and go unencumbered.
Stop using your leverage to house tenants.
The risk is no longer worth it.
Nobody will thank LL either way.
So far better to protect yourself with unencumbered properties.
Income will remain roughly the same except there will be many more homeless.
Govt doesn't want leveraged small LL.
So satisfy their wishes and exit the industry.
I'm going down the lodger route with no more than 4 occupiers so avoiding Mandatory HMO Licensing.
No S24 etc.
Last week my local Housing Options team told me that it takes only three months to evict a tenant under S21. The last one I attempted took 12 months and two weeks and was only granted after the tenant was rehoused at Her Majesties pleasure.
Yep there is much delusion in Govt as to how long it takes to evict.
I doubt any LL has managed to do so in the projected 3 month timeframe.
This is surely just more evidence as to how disconnected the PTB are from reality!
Were they not so disconnected perhaps they might not have fallen for the Shelter anti-S21 propaganda!?
Shame on the welsh govt. They obviously have no head for business and killing the prs . Its no wonder we are diving head on deeper into debts as if its a bottomless pit
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