By June Atkinson
Last year I experienced a retaliatory eviction. It happened when the landlord and rental agency asked me to pay for repairs. It was illegal, but I had little protection because the Welsh Assembly kept the ‘no fault evictions’ provision when they changed other aspects of housing law in 2016. I wouldn’t pay so the landlord decided to take their revenge.
It is part of a pattern experienced by many. Since 2021, I have been forced to move three times and none of these moves were wanted or planned.
I am a recently retired, 72 year old woman and I have rented property since I was 18. I have experienced appalling housing conditions, nasty, greedy landlords, lazy, disinterested rental agencies who are only interested in doing the bidding of landlords and the cheapest repairs which were nearly always late and insufficient.
The Threat of Homelessness
For almost a year I was on the cusp of homelessness. I was eventually offered a very small ground floor flat by a housing association. It was a huge relief and I am pleased with the housing association to a certain extent.
But housing should be a human right, not an act of charity. And the landlord seems to believe implicitly that gratitude means I shouldn’t speak out if things aren’t working. They behave like a huge business with little interest in the needs of tenants. For example, repairs during normal working hours have been good because it’s more convenient for them. Outside normal working hours, it’s a different story.
For many years we have seen reports on the shocking state of social housing across the UK, and the damage it inflicts on the physical and mental health of those impacted. I too feel deeply traumatised by a system that no longer functions – and hasn’t for decades. I have experienced an exponential increase in rents and the way that landlords abuse the freedom they are given to do more or less whatever they want.
Flawed Action
In Wales the 2016 Housing Act gave us six months before being evicted as opposed to two, but the Welsh Assembly retained the clause allowing ‘no fault evictions’, rebranding it as ‘Section 173’, and utterly undermining the extended protections. It was this loophole that my landlord exploited to carry out a revenge eviction. I was fortunate enough to find a pro bono barrister and was due to challenge the landlord in court when I was offered this flat. Many, many others are not so fortunate.
Initially I had help from Shelter but I had to deal with this on my own. In Wales there are only a few charities who can help with housing and they don’t have the capacity to fulfil the need. My housing situation has been deeply scarring and has seriously impacted my sense of safety and security. I have several chronic health problems and what has happened to me during the past five years continues to have a detrimental impact on my mental and physical health.
Wales can quite often be behind the curve with activism and I know the housing situation continues to deteriorate. There is a massive gulf between those who privately rent, are tenants in housing association and council housing, and those who are homeowners. It works like a caste system. Home owners close their eyes and ears to the serial injustices experienced by renters, and there is a pervasive perception that all tenants are likely to trash the properties they rent. This is only true of a tiny proportion of renters, but is portrayed as a widespread problem.
Starting With Unity
There is so much work needed in this area and it needs to start with tenants and residents uniting against housing injustice – regardless of whether you are a homeowner with a mortgage, lving in rented accommodation, or in insecure temporary housing.
SHAC’s project to create a national housing union for all tenants and residents is one way that we make it happen, and make sure that no corner of the country is left behind. Before then, we can build camaraderie through a Welsh SHAC community. If you live in Wales and are interested, please email shac.action@gmail.com.
18 June 2026
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I would support you if I was in Wales. However I am in London but believe me social housing is no better. In fact I would say my previous private slum landlord was better than my present social housing landlords who have abused me so much that I now need neurosurgery after 16 proven counts of disability discrimination abuse. My slum landlord never did that at least. He just wanted the money. He didn’t care if I challenged his power. He just ignored me.
But social housing landlords want to punish residents if they challenge their power and as harmfully as possible especially if you win against them.
I am simply tired of being abused because I am disabled and elderly because the system has no use for me after being a social worker, doctor and child psychologist and paying my taxes for 50 years and now I need help.
Dr LB