Dec

Generation Rent calls for eviction compensation for Welsh renters

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Generation Rent calls for eviction compensation for Welsh renters

Ahead of the Senedd elections next year, a tenant group is demanding all political parties pledge in their manifestos to stand up for renters by limiting rent rises and providing two months’ rent as compensation for tenants if evicted.

Generation Rent claims Welsh renters are “more exposed to arbitrary or revenge evictions than anywhere else in Britain” after Scotland, and soon England, banned no-fault evictions.

However, the Welsh government previously dropped a controversial proposal under which tenants facing a no-fault eviction would have received their final two months’ rent free as compensation, arguing it could lead to unintended consequences, including higher rents and increased homelessness.

Reduce the harm of evictions by requiring landlords to waive two months of rent

Generation Rent claims that all political parties should pledge in their manifestos to: “Reduce the harm of evictions by requiring landlords to waive two months of rent when they have used a ‘no-fault’ eviction ground.”

According to Generation Rent, the average unwanted move costs the typical private renter household in Wales £1,543, covering expenses like the upfront deposit, overlapping rent, and time taken off work.

The tenant group claims that introducing this compensation at the start of the tenancy would help.

Generation Rent said: “To optimise incentives for both parties, the waiver of rent could take place at the very start of the notice period. This would free up cash for moving costs immediately, removing the reason the Welsh government identified for the tenant to delay their search for a new home.

“This would then give the landlord much greater assurance that they will gain possession by the end of the notice period, and local government greater assurance that the tenant will not seek homelessness support.”

However, the Welsh government previously rejected this proposal, claiming it “could cause tenants to delay securing alternative accommodation and result in more people presenting to homelessness services”.

Remains unfair and harmful for landlords to be able to force renters out

Generation Rent is also calling for political parties to end “unfair evictions by replacing Section 173 ‘no-fault’ evictions with grounds that require a specified and legitimate reason to evict, while protecting the six-month notice period for renters”.

In Wales, landlords can use a Section 173 notice, the equivalent of a Section 21 notice in England.

Under Section 173, renters in Wales have the longest notice period in the UK, with tenants given six months to leave their home.

Generation Rent says the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 has improved protections for renters, pointing to a 58% drop in accelerated possession claims, most of which involve “no-fault” evictions, from 268 claims between January and March 2023 to 113 claims over the same period in 2025.

However, the tenant group says the continued existence of Section 173 notices allows landlords to dodge any new protections against unaffordable rent hikes.

The group says: “It remains unfair and harmful for landlords to be able to force renters out without needing a specified and legitimate reason. Renters should be able to have the protection of both a six-month notice period and clearly defined grounds for eviction.”

Renters across Wales are at constant risk of losing their home

The tenant group is also calling for rent rises to be limited to once a year, capped at the lower of wage growth or Consumer Price Index inflation, claiming this would protect people from being priced out of their homes.

Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “Homes are the foundations of our lives. But renters across Wales are at constant risk of losing their home through no fault of their own, either through an eviction or a sudden rent hike. The impact ripples across society, forcing people into poverty and homelessness and placing extra strain on public services.

“This election represents a huge opportunity for all political parties in Wales to commit to making sure renters have a secure and affordable home, giving people the secure foundation from which to thrive.”

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