Mar

Welsh government must ‘get a grip’ on rent arrears crisis, warns landlord chief

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NRLA chief Ben Beadle has called on the Welsh government (main pic) to ‘get a grip’ on the rent arrears crisis threatening to engulf the country’s private rental market by improving financial support and ending the Covid restrictions that have plunged tenants and landlords into debt.

The trade association, which represents some 90,000 landlords across both England and Wales, says Ministers must revisit its separate evictions ban, which does not allow possession orders on grounds of extreme rent arrears.

It also says the Welsh Tenant Saver Loans scheme, which enables tenants to pay landlords rent arrears, must be widened to include tenants who at the moment don’t meet its narrow creditworthiness criteria.

Ministers are also being urged to let landlords know when they can expect to return to normal notice periods for evictions – since February this year they must give tenants up to six months’ notice before moving to an eviction.

“The Welsh Government needs to get a grip of the rent debt crisis that is engulfing renters and landlords,” says Beadle (pictured).

“If action is not taken now, there will come a time when emergency measures are finally lifted when a failure to deal with rent debt will lead to tenants having to leave their homes, facing serious damage to their credit scores.

“It is time for the Welsh Government to recognise the scale of this crisis and take urgent action to help households and housing providers.”

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