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Welsh government extends notice period on evictions
The Welsh government has announced that it is extending the notice period on evictions from three months to six before possession proceedings resume in the courts in England and Wales on 23 August.
Coming into force today, the change will apply to all private and housing association tenants, unless they are being evicted on grounds of anti-social behaviour.
It will apply to all notices issued until at least the end of September.
The Welsh government said it is working with local authorities to ensure their tenants benefit from the same protection.
Possession proceedings are set to resume in England and Wales next month for the first time since they were temporarily banned in March as a response to the coronavirus crisis.
The Westminster government has introduced new civil procedures which it said will support tenants threatened with eviction when the ban is lifted, but the proposals have been branded “toothless” by shadow housing secretary Thangam Debbonaire.
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The new rules will force landlords to provide the courts with any information they have on how their tenant has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
However, judges are currently unable to take this information into consideration if the landlord is pursuing a Section 21 no-fault eviction or is using Ground 8 of Section 8, which can be used when a tenant has failed to pay rent for over eight weeks.
Citizens Advice revealed this week that it has seen a massive surge in people accessing its webpages about rent arrears in recent months.
The increase in notice periods in Wales has been implemented using powers granted to Welsh ministers under the Coronavirus Act 2020.
It follows a similar strategy to that taken by the Scottish government, which introduced six-month notice periods for evictions in March except where certain grounds are being used, including anti-social behaviour.
Welsh housing minister Julie James said: “While the coronavirus outbreak is affecting everyone, we know it is having a more significant financial impact on some of the more vulnerable people in our society, many of whom are tenants in private rented accommodation.
“It is vital that no renter in Wales will be forced out of their home during this difficult time.
“These temporary changes will ensure fewer people will face eviction into homelessness at a time when local authorities are less able to respond to these situations, those renting their homes will have more security, and those at risk of eviction will have more time to get help to resolve any problems.”
