People renting houses will have to be given six months notice before they can be evicted by their landlord in new rules coming into force from Thursday, December 1. The new ‘no-fault’ notice period has been extended from two months and it will no longer be possible for landlords to issue a notice in the first six months. It means all those who’ve signed a contract on a property will have a minimum 12 months of security at the start of their tenancy from Thursday.
In what are the biggest changes to housing law in Wales for decades it’s hoped renters will now enjoy greater transparency, more consistency, and increased certainty. The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 is intended to improve how homes in Wales are rented, managed, and lived in. Some of the main changes introduced which now apply include:
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NetRent Comment
There is a chronic shortage of rental property in Wales, both in the private sector and in social housing and yet the Welsh Government deem that now is the time to introduce draconian measures to damage the Private Rented Sector in Wales.
Couple this with the legislative assault on holiday homes and it is clear that the Welsh Government is set on an ideological path to ending private renting in Wales.
They may pay lip service to landlords in Wales, claiming that they want a vibrant private sector, but their actions and legislation show their clear intentions – they want to shut down private landlords throughout Wales.
There is already a pan-Wales landlord register and they have at their disposal over 200 pieces of legislation they can hit landlords with but they have proven completely inept at both running the register and ensuring safe renting in Wales. Now they have taken a sledgehammer to crack an imaginary nut and will force landlords into making hard business decisions about whether or not it is worthwhile continuing to rent out homes in Wales.
The answer from the number of previously rented properties for sale is that landlords have determined that it is simply not worth the hassle. They are leaving the PRS in droves and that exodus will only increase.
The Welsh Government don’t care. They are ideologically opposed to private renting of homes and holiday homes and it suits that ideology to drive landlords out. They can then turn to the UK Government and demand more resources to solve a housing crises they have created, whilst at the same time blaming everyone but themselves.
So, we now have the Scottish Government freezing rents and banning evictions, the Welsh Government making it almost impossible to be in business as a landlord and the English Government planning to scrap Section 21. And yet all three wonder why there are fewer rental properties available and why we’re spending £ billions housing people in bed and breakfast accommodation.
The people who will really suffer from this collective lunacy are tenants. Rents will rise, there will be an increasing shortage of property to rent and we will spend staggering amounts of money housing the homeless. Did anyone seriously vote for any of this?