Renting homes: frequently asked questions (landlords)

The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 commenced fully on 1 December 2022. 

Under the new law ‘occupation contracts’ have replaced existing tenancies and licences.

There are two main types of occupation contract: standard and secure. Standard contracts have replaced assured shorthold tenancies (which were used mainly in the private rented sector), and secure contracts have replaced secure and assured tenancies (which were used mainly in the social rented sector).

On 1 December 2022, existing tenancy agreements automatically converted to an occupation contract. For example, if an existing tenancy was a fixed term assured shorthold tenancy, it converted to a fixed term standard occupation contract. If it was a periodic assured shorthold tenancy, it converted to a periodic standard contract.

An occupation contract can be started verbally, but it needs to be followed up with a written statement of the contract. Written statements need to be given within 14 days of the occupation date for new contracts that started on or after 1 December 2022. Written statements for converted contracts need to be issued by 1 June 2023.

You or your agent will need to draw up a written statement to use for new occupation contracts issued from 1 December. The model written statements should provide a good basis for this. For converted contracts, you or your agent will need to consider which of your existing terms need to be carried across to the written statement of the converted contract. You will then need to provide a copy of the written statement to your existing tenants by 1 June 2023.
 

The Welsh Government’s website contains information and advice on the Act, including model written statements for the new occupation contracts which can be downloaded for use by landlords in drawing up a contract. These are available at: Renting homes: model written statements | GOV.WALES. Guidance on the conversion process is also available, see Creating a converted occupation contract: guidance for landlords | GOV.WALES.

The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (Amendment of Schedule 12 and Consequential Amendment) Regulations 2023 were made on 18 May 2023. See Guidance for landlords on the effect of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (Amendment of Schedule 12) Regulations 2023.

For converted contracts you have up to six months from 1 December 2022 to provide your existing tenants or licensees with a written statement of the contract.

For new occupation contracts that started on or after 1 December 2022, you need to issue the written statement within 14 days of the occupation date under the contract.

For new contracts made on or after 1 December 2022, a landlord could use the appropriate model written statement as published on the Welsh Government website without making any changes to it. The model written statements include all the relevant fundamental and supplementary terms set out in the legislation which could be included in the occupation contract.

Landlords should note that supplementary terms can be omitted to benefit either the landlord or the contract-holder, but any changes must be agreed with the contract-holder. Some fundamental terms can also be omitted or varied, but this is only permissible if it benefits the contract-holder.

It is also possible for landlords to include their own additional terms (for example a pets clause) as long as these do not conflict with a key matter, a fundamental term, or a supplementary term, and are fair under consumer protection law. 

For existing tenancies, landlords should carefully consider all of the terms in tenancy agreements which are already in place and then make the necessary changes to the relevant model written statement to ensure that these terms are carried over into the new occupation contract. See Guidance on creating a converted contract.

The Renting Homes legislation includes a supplementary provision requiring an inventory to be provided. The provision states, ‘the inventory must set out the dwelling’s contents’. If the property is unfurnished the inventory would reflect this and may refer only to fixtures. It is in both parties interests to have an accurate inventory.

A landlord may issue a landlord’s notice to a contract-holder to end a periodic standard contract without having to give a reason for doing so. A landlord’s notice may only be given under a periodic standard contract, including a periodic standard contract that follows a fixed term standard contract. The landlord’s notice is issued using Form RHW16.

As set out in RHW16, the notice period for a landlord’s notice ‘may not be less than six months after the day on which the notice is given to the contract-holder’. To ensure the full six months’ notice is provided, the minimum notice period is calculated from the day after the notice is given to the contract-holder. For example, if a landlord hands a notice to the contract-holder on 10 September 2023, the six-month notice period starts on the day after (11 September 2023). This means the earliest date that could be specified in the notice for the contract-holder to give up possession could not be before 11 March 2024.  

A landlord’s notice may only be served after the first six months of occupation, including any period of occupation under a fixed term standard contract. This means, for any new contract under the Act (that is, with an occupation date of 1 December 2022 or later) a contract-holder who does not breach the terms of their contract is entitled to occupy the dwelling for a minimum of one year. 

We have created a flowchart for landlords and contract-holders which sets out the requirements for issuing a valid landlord’s notice under section 173.

Yes. It will have converted automatically to an occupation contract on 1 December, however possession proceedings can continue on the basis of the Section 21 notice served prior to implementation. Please see the questions ‘How do I convert an existing tenancy agreement or licence into an occupation contract’ and ‘When do I need to provide written occupation contracts to my existing tenants’ for further information.

You can issue a fixed term standard contract of any length but if a new fixed term contract is not agreed before the end of the fixed term and the tenant (contract-holder) remains in occupation after the end of the fixed term, a periodic standard contract will automatically arise. Importantly, a fixed term contract cannot generally be ended by issuing a Landlord’s Notice during the fixed term period.

There is no statutory requirement for a contract-holder to do so. However, it is good practice to encourage them to sign the document in order to confirm agreement. The contract-holder should keep the signed document in a safe place should they need to refer to it at a later date.

No. The new law has been designed to encourage landlords to use appropriate grounds for seeking possession when a tenant (or ‘contract-holder’ as they are known under the new law) breaches the terms of their contract, rather than relying on a ‘no-fault’ notice. This will make for a fairer system which allows the contract-holder to challenge a possession claim if they feel it is being made unfairly.
 

If a contract-holder stops paying rent, the landlord is able to serve a possession notice on the basis that they have breached their contract (which has a one-month notice period). Or, if they are in serious rent arrears (arrears of two months or more) a landlord may serve a notice on that ground, which has a 14-day notice period.
 

Under the new law all occupation contracts must include the anti-social behaviour term included in the model written statements. Anti-social behaviour and other prohibited conduct can include excessive noise, verbal abuse and physical assault. It also includes domestic abuse (including physical, emotional and sexual, psychological, emotional or financial abuse).

If the contract-holder breaches this term of the contract, the landlord is able to serve a possession notice and commence court proceedings on the same day. The contract-holder can also be held responsible for the behaviour of anyone else who lives in or visits the dwelling.

The notice period a tenant (or ‘contract-holder’ as they are known under the new law) is required to give to end a contract is a minimum of four weeks. However, the contract-holder cannot end a fixed term standard contract in this way, unless a contract-holder's break clause has been included.

Yes. A landlord is required to give two months’ notice of a rent variation, which may be issued annually.

A contract-holder is not able to create a sub-contract unless that is permitted by the contract (i.e. if the landlord and contract-holder have agreed to include an additional term in the contract to that effect).

Yes. A fixed term assured shorthold tenancy will have automatically converted into a fixed term standard contract on 1 December 2022, with the fixed term coming to an end on the same date as set out in the existing tenancy agreement.
 

The new law has introduced new provisions around joint contract-holders. These allow a contract-holder to be added or removed from a joint contract, without the need to end the contract for all. A contract-holder may, with the consent of the landlord that cannot be unreasonably withheld or be subject to unreasonable conditions, make another person a joint contract-holder under the contract. All contract-holders must be given a written statement of the occupation contract.

As elsewhere in the UK, we have not legislated to create a statutory right to keep a pet, landlords and contract-holders are able to agree additional terms covering the keeping of pets. The explanatory information that must be included in written statements of contracts makes it clear that all additional terms must comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 regarding fairness. Any pet clause as an additional term in the contract should allow a contract-holder to ask for permission to keep a pet, and the landlord is not allowed to unreasonably refuse the request.

Under the new law a fixed term standard contract can be agreed for any length of time. However, should a contract-holder remain in occupation at the end of fixed term, a periodic standard will arise and the landlord could seek possession by issuing a notice under section 173 of the Act (unless there are other grounds on which possession may be sought: breach of contract, rent arrears, etc.).

If the mortgage lender repossesses the property and becomes the landlord, they would then be able to issue a six-month Landlord’s Notice under a periodic standard contract.

Yes, the same arrangements apply for the protection of tenancy deposits. Existing deposits related to converted contracts and protected in approved schemes are unaffected.

The aim of the Fitness Regulations is prevention, that is, to help ensure landlords maintain dwellings to prevent them from becoming unfit for human habitation.

The new law places an obligation on the landlord to ensure the dwelling is fit for human habitation. Regulations set out further information on the fitness for human habitation requirement. A contract-holder will not be liable to pay rent for any period during which the property is deemed to be unfit, and a landlord will not be able to issue a Landlord’s Notice, or break clause if they are not in compliance with the Fitness requirements.

If a contract-holder believes that a property is unfit but the landlord does not agree it would ultimately be for the court to decide whether a property is unfit based on the Regulations. A court claim would be made the same way as a disrepair claim.

However, if a contract-holder withheld rent on the basis the property was unfit, this would potentially create a ground for possession, this being either breach of contract or the serious rent arrears ground.

Yes. The new requirements are set out in the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022. Regulation 5 says that:

(1) The landlord must ensure that, during each period of occupation, on each storey of the dwelling there is a smoke alarm which is—

(a) in repair and proper working order,

(b) connected to the dwelling’s electrical supply, and

(c) linked to every other smoke alarm in the dwelling which is connected to the electrical supply.

Therefore, whilst it is not a requirement that every smoke alarm at a property is connected to the dwelling’s electrical supply, at least one smoke alarm on each storey of the dwelling must be.

Provided that this requirement is met there is nothing to prevent additional battery powered alarms from being fitted, which (as they are not hardwired) do not have to be interlinked.

For new contracts which begin on or after 1 December 2022, landlords need to ensure properties they let in Wales comply with these requirements. For tenancies which existed before 1 December 2022, landlords have 12 months to comply with these requirements (i.e. by 1 December 2023).

Yes. The new requirements are set out in the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022. Regulation 5 says, amongst other things, that:

The landlord must ensure that, during each period of occupation, a carbon monoxide alarm which is in repair and proper working order is in each room of the dwelling which contains a gas appliance, an oil fired combustion appliance or a solid fuel burning combustion appliance.

The Regulations do not stipulate whether the carbon monoxide alarms should be battery powered or connected to the dwelling’s electrical supply. These requirements apply to all occupation contracts as of 1 December 2022.

Yes. The new requirements are set out in the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022. Regulation 6 requires the landlord to ensure there is a valid electrical condition report (a copy of which must be provided to the contract-holder) in respect of the dwelling during each period of occupation.

An electrical condition report is provided following an inspection of the property’s electrical installation. This report will remain valid for a maximum period of 5 years beginning with the day on which electrical safety inspection is carried out. This five-year period may be reduced if the report indicates the need for testing at shorter intervals.

For new contracts which begin on or after 1 December 2022, landlords need to ensure properties they let in Wales comply with these requirements. For tenancies which existed before 1 December 2022 landlords have 12 months to comply with these requirements (i.e. by 1 December 2023).

Read: Fitness of homes for human habitation: guidance for landlords

Where the cost of bringing a home in the private rented sector up to the required standard is significant, it may be that assistance is available in the form of home improvement loans or similar. You should contact your local authority for advice on eligibility in relation to this.

There are no changes to the registration and licencing requirements for existing tenancies subject to the Rent Smart Wales requirements, however there is an additional training module for landlords who were issued a licence since July 2020.. A small number of tenancies are now subject to the Rent Smart Wales requirements that were not subject to the requirements previously. For any further queries please contact Rent Smart Wales directly.

Rent Smart Wales and some of its approved providers offer Renting Homes training. This is free on the Rent Smart Wales website, or for a fee if undertaken in a classroom or virtual classroom setting. More information can be found on the Rent Smart Wales website.