Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 26 August 2020.
First Minister, lockdown has highlighted the importance of having a safe and secure home. Shelter Cymru estimates that 42 per cent of private tenants in Wales are vulnerable to no-fault evictions, which you promised in your conference address last year that you would ban. In addition, of course, in the wake of the pandemic, 40 per cent of renters in Wales are estimated to be falling behind on their rent. Of course, leaving people homeless at any time would be unforgivable, but doing so in the middle of a global pandemic would be particularly pernicious. In Scotland, there will be a six-month extension to the ban on evicting renters amid the COVID-19 pandemic, yet in Wales, at the moment, there's no similar commitment, despite Shelter calling for an extension. Can I urge the Welsh Government to do two things: firstly, extend the ban on evictions, whatever the tenants' circumstances are, until the pandemic is over, and, secondly, emulate the Scottish approach and legislate to end no-fault evictions altogether, so that a tenant can only be evicted in ordinary times due to unacceptable or unlawful behaviour?