Peter Lazenby
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PROPERTY owners in Wales have been accused of evicting tenants to avoid legislation by the Welsh government which will give them greater protection.
One family defying repossession by their landlord says that if they are evicted they will have nowhere to go and cannot afford higher rents on other houses.
The letting agency which rents out their home on behalf of the landlord said the family’s was “not an isolated case.”
Michael and Kathryn Wakeman have lived in their rented home in Rumney for 10 years.
They have a son and daughter living at home.
They have been issued with a Section 21 (no fault) eviction notice, and were told the landlord intends to sell the property. They were given two months’ notice after the Westminster government lifted protections giving tenants six months’ notice during the pandemic.
The family is refusing to leave.
Mr Wakeman, who works in pest control, was studying to be a gas engineer and helps run a local food bank, said: “We’ve been here for 10 years.”
Mrs Wakeman said: “Obviously, we haven’t been able to leave as we have nowhere to go, the council advised us to stay put, we are now awaiting a possession order from the estate agents.”
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act will be introduced in December and is expected to transform the rental market in Wales.
It will enforce six months’ notice for any eviction but will go much further. It will guarantee tenants security of occupation for 12 months, enforce landlords’ responsibilities for maintenance and outlaw “retaliatory eviction” of tenants who ask for repairs or complain about conditions.
Wales estate agents have said the legislation is one of the reasons landlords are now evicting while “no fault” evictions are easier.
Mrs Wakeman said her family is now in “limbo” awaiting a possession order.
“We are sat here in a shell of a house trying to tell our children ‘it’ll be OK, we will be fine,’” she said.
James Douglas Sales and Lettings general manager Sarah Evans said new legislation “has meant that renting is simply not viable any longer for some landlords.”
