RHA 04
Bil Rhentu Cartrefi (Diwygio) (Cymru) Renting
Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill Ymateb gan: Cyngor ar
bopeth
Response from: Citizen’s Advice
About Citizens Advice
Cymru
Citizens
Advice is a charity founded in 1939. Since then, we’ve given
advice, information and support on a range of everyday issues to
anyone who needs it,
from
debt,
money and
welfare
benefits
to housing,
employment and
relationships.
In Wales
we have a network of 19 local Citizens Advice - all individual
charities, staffed by nearly 800 dedicated volunteers and paid
staff. We remove the arriers to advice by going to places where
people need us most, delivering advice from over 375 community
locations in Wales, as well as offering services over the phone and
online.
Every
year across England and Wales millions of people turn to us. This
gives us a unique insight into their needs and concerns. We use
this knowledge to campaign on big issues, both locally and
nationally. So one way or another, we’re helping everyone
– not just those we supportdirectly.
In 2018/19 we saw 7381 people with 17,041 housing
issues. Of these 3229 issues specifically related
to problems in the Private Rented Sector including
problems with letting agents, landlords and
fees.
Around a fifth (557 issues) of all the issues clients came
to us about the Private rented sector related to securityof
tenure, noticeand possession actions(not including rent
arrears).
General principles of the
bill
In
unpublished research1 commissioned by CitizensAdvice 10% of respondents
took more than 3 months to find their last property to rent in the
private rented sector. Considering this independent research and
our client datait's clear that thelonger the noticeperiod
requirements for tenants the more chancethere is of the tenant
beingable to save,plan and preparefor alternative property that is
sustainable and suitable for their circumstances. We therefore
welcome the Welsh Government’s commitment to providingmore
security for tenants in the Private Rented Sector.
Our
client data and researchindicates that tenantsin the private rented
sector want to know that they can make their house their home and
have control to truly choose when to leave the property. Ideally,
it would be preferable for tenants not to be forced to
leave their home if they have done nothing wrong but in the absence
of the abolition of no fault notices the minimum requirement should
be for a notice periodof at least 6 months.
Client has rented a property for 4 years, paid a bond which
is protected in her partners name, client has been issued with a
Section 21 Notice. Client has discovered that her landlady is not
registered with Rent Smart Wales and that the Section 21 notice is
invalid. However, knowing that the landlord can just register and
then issue a no fault eviction has left the client uncertain about
the sustainability of her home. Client has 2
children
aged 4 and 8 who attenda school verynearby. Client is distraught at
thethought that shehas to vacateher property, has to takeher
children from school and possibly findalternative schooling in a
new area. Clientis worried about findingthe financial backingto
move to another rented property.
Tenants
may not fullyunderstand all of their rightswhen entering into a
contract and anything that simplifies the process for tenants,
landlords and those
supporting them is to be welcomed. Being served a notice whilst
lawfully in occupation of
a property, even if that notice is valid and doesn’t change
the actual length of
occupation, may cause confusion for tenants in occupation about
their security and may contribute to a more negative attitude to
remaining in the Private Rented Sector.
1 Unpublished
research carried out by COMRESof 400 tenants in the Private Rental
Sector in Wales, polling took place March 7th -19th 2019
Around 1
in 6 (16%) adults in Wales have no savings at all. 1 in 7 (14%)
would struggle to make ends meet if their housing costs increased
by £50 a month.2
56% of people in the Private Rented Sector in the UK said they were
not prepared for unexpected bills or unplanned
expenses3
35% of
Private Rented Sector clients who came to us for debt
advice also operated on a negative budget4. When an adviser does a Single Financial Statement
with someone in debt and they have £0 or less after living
costs - but before any unsecured debt repayments are considered -
this is called a deficit, or a negative budget. Having a negative
budget means people aren’t able to make any debt repayments.
Often it means they will have to go without essentials, for example
cutting back on spending on food and utilities, and are
far more likely to fall into arrears with essential payments such
as rent and counciltax.5
We know
that it can cost people more than £3006 to move (excluding fees and deposits) and we also
know that there is little financial resilience in terms of savings
and disposable income for our clients. We therefore support
provision for as much notice as possible for people who have to
find a new home.
2 Financial
Conduct Authority (2017) Financial Lives Survey
3https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/CitizensAdvice/Debt%20and%20Money%20Publication
s/Walking%20on%20thin%20ice%20-%20full%20report.pdf
4 Source: Money
Advice Recording Tool, November 2018 - November 2019
5https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/CitizensAdvice/Consumer%20publications/Negative%2
0budgets%20report%20-%20phase%201%20(1).pdf
6 Unpublished
research carried out by COMRES of 400 tenantsin the Private Rental
Sectorin Wales, polling took place March 7th-19th 2019 - 11% of
respondents saidmore than £300when asked “Thinking
about the last time you starteda tenancy, approximately how much
did it cost for you to move house excluding your deposit (e.g. time
off work, petrol or public transport costs to attend viewings or
sign documents, hiring removal specialists)?
Some
key demographics of our housing clients
