A key Generation Rent campaign has moved one step closer to reality in Wales, as the Senedd’s Local Government and Housing Committee report on the Private Rented Sector endorsed the idea of compensating tenants who have been evicted through no fault of their own.
Our proposal, which would see tenants not have to pay the final two months of their rent when they have been evicted through no fault of their own, is a direct attempt to prevent tenants falling into homelessness when evicted from our homes. We made the case to the committee in March of this year, when our Chief Executive Ben Twomey gave evidence in Cardiff, and the committee has now taken the idea forward. The report, which can be read in full here, states:
“we … see merit in the approach suggested by Generation Rent for financial compensation for tenants who have to move through no fault of their own by allowing them to retain the last two months’ rent as compensation for the financial and wellbeing impacts of a forced move. Such a step could help to prevent homelessness and reduce local authority spend on deposits and rent in advance.”
Crucially, the cross-party committee also makes the recommendation that:
“The Welsh Government should explore the feasibility of enabling tenants who are subject to no-fault evictions to retain the last two months’ rent of their tenancy as compensation for the financial and wellbeing impact of a forced move, and write to us by April 2025 to set out its conclusions.”
This represents a significant step towards making evictions fairer and less common. Our recent research found that the UK average cost of an unwanted move is £2,216 and implementing this measure will reduce pressure on tenants facing this burden, which is forcing people on to the streets or into temporary accommodation.
This compensation is also a matter of justice. In Wales, Section 173 evictions mean that tenants can be thrown out of our homes with no reason given. When the Renters’ Rights Bill passes in England, Wales will be the only part of Britain that allows no-fault, no-reason evictions to blight our lives. While we strongly believe that evictions should be limited to a set number of legitimate reasons, compensation should be due to anyone unlucky enough to suffer a no-fault eviction. The loss of one’s home at the whim of your landlord is a traumatic event that uproots lives and drives people out of their communities; it is only right that we are compensated for the suffering caused. The principle of compensating tenants already exists in Section 11 of the 1988 Housing Act where tenants evicted for refurbishment are entitled to have their removal costs covered.
We hope the Welsh Government takes on the advice of the Committee and seriously explores proposals to compensate evicted tenants. We are writing to the Minister to explore how we can support this ambition and look forward to seeing the government’s conclusions before April 2025.
We also call upon the government in Westminster to implement no-fault eviction compensation as part of the Renters’ Rights Bill. We made the proposal a key part of our written evidence to the Bill committee just this week, and Generation Rent CEO Ben Twomey advocated for it during his oral evidence on Tuesday. We will continue to see no-fault evictions on landlord-need grounds after the Bill becomes law, and those tenants also deserve the security and justice that compensation would bring.
We also call on the government in Westminster to implement no-fault eviction compensation as part of the Renters’ Rights Bill. We made the proposal a key part of our written evidence to the Bill committee just this week, and Generation Rent Chief Executive Ben Twomey advocated for it during his oral evidence in Parliament on Tuesday. Every nation of the UK must end unfair evictions, and seriously consider compensation for when tenants still experience so much harm and cost through no fault of their own.
