Welsh possession reform bill passes Senedd
The Senedd (Welsh Parliament) has approved a Bill designed to give tenants greater security of tenure, due to come into force in Spring 2022 as part of wholescale reform to the private rented sector.
The Renting Homes (Amendment) Bill passed stage four yesterday and now goes to Royal Assent. It amends the Renting Homes Act 2016 – a large-scale reforming law due for implementation in spring next year – to make S173, the forthcoming replacement for S21, more generous to tenants.
The legislation extends the minimum notice period required under a S173 notice from two to six months and restricts the issue of a S173 notice until six months after the date of issue of a contract, as opposed to four months as currently set out in the Act.
There are other changes as part of the Bill, which passed by 36 to 17, that can be read here.
The Bill was voted through by the Labour-led Welsh Government and all-but-one Conservative. The latter group said they would vote in favour of the Bill but it was disappointing to see the NRLA-backed amendments, were not adopted.
Plaid Cymru voted against the Bill on the grounds it did not provide tenants with enough support – Plaid support an end to “no-fault evictions” and intend to revisit this area after this year’s election.
Ahead of the forthcoming changes – from possession reform, model contracts, and fitness for human habitation standards – NRLA Wales will be informing its members of how their business will change, when consultations will be open, and by when landlords must put new measures in place as a result of this legislation.
Calum Davies, Welsh Policy and Public Affairs Officer for the National Residential Landlords Association, said:
“We accepted committee recommendations based on our proposals to explore a Welsh Housing Court and better data collection – which the NRLA have been calling for.
“However, it is worth highlighting that several of our proposals were not adopted and this could unfortunately lead to negative consequences for the wider sector, including landlords leaving the market. The implication of this is it would decrease housing supply at a time when people are more dependent on private rented housing following the economic aftermath of coronavirus.
“The central issue with this legislation is it encourages landlords to go to court to seek possession when they sadly have no confidence in such a slow justice system – and this was prior to the pandemic increasing the backlog significantly.
“After four pieces of law passing in the last seven years focussing on the private rented sector, what landlords and tenants need now is a break to adjust to the new regime, allowing policymakers to assess the effectiveness of the legislation.”
