Welsh landlord’s attempt to evict tenants sparks national debate over PRS changes

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A landlord has been unwittingly drawn into a heated debate over the looming changes to the Welsh private rented sector.

The country’s Government recently delayed its planned reforms that will alter how tenancies, properties and evictions are managed, similar in many ways to the planned changes within England set out in the Westminster government’s Fairer Renting White Paper recently. Due to go live in July, the Welsh measures within the Renting Homes (Wales) Act will now become law in December.

The saga kicked off after ITV ran a news piece over the weekend highlighting the case of a couple facing eviction from their home in Rumney, Cardiff.

After ten years spent living at the address where they paid £630 a month in rent Kathryn and Michael Wakeham (main picture) – both of whom are involved in local charitable endeavours including volunteering at a food bank – have been asked to leave the property after their landlord decided to sell up.

Affordable home

The couple now face an uphill battle to find an affordable home of the same size on the area, where rents for semi-detached houses similar to theirs are now £1,000 or more.

Although their case has generated headlines all over the UK and even overseas, with many commentators accusing the landlords of ‘throwing them out’, the letting agent which manages the property, James Douglas Sales and Lettings, has a different story to tell.

The firm’s General Manager Sarah Evans told ITV that many other landlords in the area were selling their properties or considering doing so following recent increases in Welsh landlord taxation and the looming Renting Home Act.

It will swing the balance of power very much more towards tenants, including lengthening notice periods to a statutory six months.

“This has resulted in more rental properties being sold and increased rents as landlords try to recover their rising costs,” says Evans (pictured).

“Partly as a result of this reducing stock, we are seeing the highest tenant demand on record due to the lack of supply.

“Unless the Welsh Government looks to mitigate this in some way this is clearly going to be a continuing trend.”

Pic credit: ITV

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