The bill, which was published yesterday by the Welsh Government, has highlighted plans to prevent rougue landlords evicting tenants because they complain about their property.
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) hit back against the bill and warned that it will become a charter for lawyers, as “tenants and landlords get bogged down in costly court processes”.
The plans were previously criticised by Shelter Cymru which warned that such proposals could increase rents and are unlikely to tackle rogue landlords.
In 2013, Shelter Cymru, working with Citizens Advice Bureau Wales published a report on the issue which noted: “In reality the transition to protecting tenants from retaliatory action may need to be managed in a way that gives landlords time to raise investment and minimises the likelihood of extreme rent rises.”
It added: “Rogue landlords will still be a problem. There is a risk that introducing protection from retaliatory eviction may encourage rogue landlords to resort to illegal eviction methods such as harassment or withdrawal of services. This is why it is critical that local authorities have the resources to carry out enforcement.”
In 2008, the Law Commission for England and Wales also warned against such legislation.
The RLA is instead calling for better enforcement of existing consumer rights regulations which make retaliatory evictions illegal already.
RLA’s vice chairman for Wales, Douglas Haig said: “The RLA condemns any landlord who commits a retaliatory eviction. It is simply wrong.
The government’s proposals will do little for tenants and landlords. It’s short on detail and long on vagaries. It would simply become a lawyer’s charter for anti-social and non-rent paying tenants to exploit.”
The RLA is however welcoming a number of measures in the bill including efforts to tackle abandoned houses and work to better educate tenants about their rights and responsibilities.
Mr Haig added: “It is a shame that a bill that could enjoy support across the sector is being let down by a measure that will cause such uncertainty.
“There are already sufficient powers to tackle poor quality housing. What is missing is the resources needed to enforce it.”
