Meet your Wales local representative
The New Year is only weeks away, and it's fair to say it has been an exceptionally busy year for our NRLA Wales representatives.
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act was introduced twelve months ago, and Sandra, Gill, and Steven have traveled across Wales to ensure members are up-to-date as different parts of the legislation were rolled out over the year.
In fact, as a collective, the team in Wales hosted more than 31 local events and webinars in 2023. Here, we chat to your Wales regional Wales representatives Sandra and Gill about how they became landlords, their role at the NRLA, and what their 2023 highlight has been.
Meet Gill
Hi Gill! Tell us more about your role here at the NRLA
"I joined the NRLA back in December 2020 during covid as the All Wales Representative for Wales. It has been very strange beginning as my interview was over the phone and I have never been in a room with my work colleagues for over 15 months.
My role is to be the ‘ on the ground face of the NRLA for landlords and to build relationships with key stakeholders such as local authority landlord forums, Housing teams etc. I have also set up All Wales Webinars during covid which have been extremely well received.
Previously I have had a very diverse career including senior roles in BBC Wales, Manpower and the CEO of Welsh Women’s Aid, the umbrella body and lobbying organisation for the domestic abuse arena in Wales.
"Here at the NRLA I am the local representative for South Wales, so I usually arrange and host meet-ups across Cardiff, Bridgend, and many other areas!".
Pictured right: Gill Owens. To get in touch directly with Gill, click here.
What has been your highlight from 2023?
"For me 2023 has been all about educating and spreading the word around landlord compliance of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act - although landlords have been worried about the legislation, I have really enjoyed being the face on the ground supporting both landlord forums and local authorities but also individuals who look to me for guidance and advice.
"It has been an extremely busy year but I love meeting landlords and chatting to them whether networking at meetings or at one of our very small and intimate Coffee and Chats".
How did you become a landlord?
"We (my husband & I ) became accidental landlords back in the early 2000s as my youngest daughter inherited £20,000 so we bought one BtL property to ‘ get her on the housing market’.
"We then moved on to buying a very run down large property which we completely renovated and sold for a decent profit – however continuing to invest around 2008 – we lost everything in the banking crisis and
it took us ten years before we could start again.
"It didn’t deter us from property investing and since 2016 have been slowly growing a portfolio and renting for a range of tenants including transitioning homeless and veterans."
Meet Sandra
Hi Sandra. Great to meet you! Tell us a bit about you. What is your role at the NRLA?
"I’ve been a regional representative for the NRLA for the last five years, running meetings for landlords across the West Midlands and North Wales, and representing the views of landlords with local authorities too. One day I can be talking to fellow landlords and the next to policymakers and media. It’s hard not to be passionate about the issues of people you meet and want to see improvements that will make housing better for all".
What has been your highlight from 2023?
"This year, it’s hard to choose a highlight from the many events but I’d have to choose the face-to-face coffee and chat sessions where I get to really talk to the landlords who are so good to join us on the webinars".
How did you become a landlord?
"I first became a landlord back in 2002 but found the legislation quite daunting and sold up and didn’t come back to it until 2014.
"Although my family have always rented property in Mid-Wales, I felt I really needed to do much more to take some of the stress and fear of getting it all wrong out of it. I particularly love my role in Wales as I enjoy talking to the landlords I meet in our regional and national meetings and hearing from them about their concerns and solutions - where they exist! Increasingly I find local authorities are positive about supporting landlords too".
To get in touch with Sandra directly, click here.
Gill and Sandra look forward to welcoming landlords in Wales to more events and webinars in 2024.
Keep an eye on our events calendar to find out when the next meeting is taking place, in your local area.