Hundreds of private housing tenants in North Wales and Stoke on Trent who are facing eviction are being encouraged to join forces in an effort to unravel what has happened to their homes.
It was reported that more than 350 people had received eviction or repossession orders and been told they had to move out of the properties owned and managed by Whalley Huws.
It is understood that the North Wales based property company is one of a number of firms being investigated by police.
In Stoke-on-Trent, the City Council stopped all payments to Whalley Huws but it is feared that if the tenants are forced out and effectively made homeless it will put enormous pressure on the rest of the council's housing stock.
It is the same situation in Colwyn Bay and Pensarn and there are fears it could affect other cities such as Liverpool and Manchester.
In North Wales some tenants have already had to leave their properties and the Colwyn District Enterprise Alliance, a community support group, has been helping to find other private rented accommodation.
This week North Wales Police confirmed an investigation is in progress involving companies including Whalley Huws, but would not release any further details.
• Some shareholders in the UK’s largest listed residential landlord have been selling their stakes in the company after it offered to pay out its bondholders early in an attempt to reduce the group’s debt.
The debt for equity swap by Grainger Plc has a deadline of 4 November. The move will dilute the group’s stock which is what caused the decision by some shareholders to sell and this saw a fall in the company’s share price at the end of last week.
Like many other companies who have large assets in the residential property market, Grainger Plc has been affected by the economic downturn in the UK housing market.
It currently owns around 14,000 properties in the UK but Grainger Plc said recently that it selling more properties with sitting tenants which in turn meant smaller margins on property sales.
The 96-year-old company has already survived many other downturns in the economy and so is using its experience to make cuts in its costs until the housing market recovers.
