Retaliatory eviction - Citizens Advice

Shelter Cymru & Citizens Advice CymruMaking rights real: preventing retaliatory evictions in WalesSummaryThere was some evidence of disparity between the views of local authority officers and landlords on theissue of retaliatory eviction. While none of the people we spoke to denied that retaliatory evictions tookplace, opinion differed on the need for legislative change.All of the local authority officers we spoke to had dealt with tenants who had been put off from accessinghelp offered by the local authority because of fears of retaliatory action. For more than a third of officers,fear of retaliatory eviction was a phenomenon they came across often.The vast majority of local authority officers were in favour of a legislative change. More than half of surveyrespondents thought there definitely needed to be more security for tenants exercising their statutoryrights, and a further 39 per cent thought it was a possible option, with a number of different suggestionsfor how this could be done in practice.The two professional landlords we spoke to also felt there was a need to address poor practice amongrogue landlords, but that this should not be done by making any changes to powers of eviction. One feltthat if enforcement were more appropriately targeted at bad landlords there would be fewer retaliatoryevictions anyway. There were also concerns about making the system any more complex than it already is,as some landlords already struggle with the complexity of the current legal framework.Both landlords emphasised the importance of tenant and landlord education to prevent situationsdeveloping that may lead to retaliatory acts.Finally, many of the people we spoke to among local authority officers and landlords felt that any newlaw to protect tenants from retaliatory eviction would need to include provisos to protect landlords from‘rogue’ tenants who may try to take advantage of their new rights.26