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People with mental health issues face discrimination when trying to get a private rented home, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Cymru has warned.
A new report for the body’s Tyfu Tai Cymru research project found that while 62% of private landlords have had tenants with a mental health problem, almost half felt they had “never” had enough help to support these tenants.
CIH Cymru said a lack of mental health support services are proving a “real barrier” to vulnerable people keeping their private rented sector homes.
It called for private landlords to be required to complete a module improving their knowledge of support services for tenants with poor mental health as part of the Rent Smart Wales licensing scheme.
And it said Welsh Government should provide information for private landlords and letting agents about mental health support, while councils should develop crisis services to help private renters with issues maintain their tenancies.
Catherine May, manager of Tyfu Tai Cymru, said: “People with mental health problems who rent privately simply aren’t getting enough support and timely access to services to maintain their tenancy and live well in their own home.
“It is also evident that private landlords often don’t feel well equipped in managing a tenancy where someone has a mental health problem.
“Private landlords and tenants need a voice in how support services are planned and delivered and they themselves need to know where to go for high quality advice and information to support a tenant living with a mental health problem.”
Glenn Page, senior policy and campaigns officer at mental health charity Mind Cymru, said: “We welcome this report from Tyfu Tai Cymru – it is clear that there is a lack of support for both tenants and landlords.
“Providing adequate and effective services to support landlords and tenants experiencing mental health problems will not only reduce the growing pressure on mental health services, it is a crucial element of providing the sort of holistic mental health support we know is needed for recovery and to stay well.”
The report was welcomed in the Senedd yesterday by Hannah Blythyn, deputy housing and local government minister for the Welsh Government, and David Melding, housing spokesperson for the Welsh Conservatives.
Ms Blythyn said the idea of building a mental health module into Rent Smart Wales “is definitely one worth considering”.
Mr Melding said: “For tenants, the stress and worry of accruing rent arrears, for instance, can exacerbate existing mental health problems, and for some, of course, it can trigger those mental health problems.
“And the cognitive and behaviour changes that often accompany mental health problems can make it extremely difficult to prevent arrears in the first instance, or to resolve them once they’ve occurred.”