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The private rental sector has many regulations that landlords must comply with, one of which is the Renting Homes (Wales) Act (2016), which came into force on 1st December 2022.
The key aim of this legislation is to provide tenants with greater security and ensure that tenant and landlord responsibilities are clear.
Anyone renting out a property in the County of Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey and across Wales must comply with the act. The legislation has been updated over time; the updated laws in the Renting Homes (Wales) Act (2016) built on the Housing Act (Wales) 2014. The Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 and Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Act 2021 added further conditions.
These are some of the main points the act covers:
Find out the main rules of the Welsh Government legislation, Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 in our summary.
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 was introduced by the National Parliament for Wales to streamline the rental property process. What’s in the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 in summary?
The legislation was designed to improve standards for rental properties by giving landlords clarity on their responsibilities and protecting tenants’ rights.
Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act, the previous terminology used to describe property rental changed and some new conditions were added.
Landlords in Wales are categorised as either a community landlord or a private landlord. Community landlords are typically local authorities or registered social landlords. Private landlords are landlords who do not fall into the community category.
The terminology used for tenants and tenancy agreements changed under the last legislation update. Tenants and licensees in Wales are called contract holders and instead of having tenancy agreements, as they were historically known, there are occupation contracts.
There are two types of occupation contracts.
Occupation contracts are split into four categories of terms:
For new standard contracts since 1st December 2022, the no fault notice period for a standard eviction was increased from 2 months to 6 months. This came into effect for existing contracts in 2023.
Landlords are not allowed to evict a tenant based on them complaining about the condition of the property. If the court deems a property to be unfit for habitation following a no fault eviction notice, landlords are prevented from serving a no fault eviction notice for the next 6 months.
Tenants are held to a high standard as well. The Renting Homes Act (Wales) sets in writing that contract holders must not carry out any anti-social behaviour at the property.
Is your rental property fit for human habitation (FFHH)? The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 is very clear on what’s expected of landlords to provide a safe and comfortable home for contract holders.
Under the rental regulations in Wales, landlords are responsible for electrical safety testing and ensuring working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are fitted. Rental properties should have:
Under the legislation, contract holders do not have to pay rent for time periods where the property is not fit for human habitation.
Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act, joint contract holders can leave the contract without bringing the whole contract to an end. It is possible to add a new joint contract holder to a Welsh rental contract, with no need to end the current contract.
What happens if one contract holder dies? The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 allows for certain conditions. If one spouse dies, their widow, widower or civil partner can have the contract transferred to them.
The successor can be another family member, or someone who lived with the contract holder before their death. Under certain circumstances, this can cover a carer who was living at the property alongside the deceased contract holder.
Landlords can take back possession of an abandoned Welsh rental property with two steps: by serving a 4 week warning notice, and investigating to verify that that the property is indeed abandoned.
The property rental regulations take safety, warmth and sanitation very seriously. Be sure to fit the required CO2, smoke and fire alarms to meet safety standards. Make sure you meet your obligations to the letter of the law.
All rental contacts should be written up as occupation contracts. When the new legislation was introduced in 2022, landlords had to provide tenants with a new written statement of their contract, including the changes to the terminology.
The Welsh Government provided model written statements for landlords following the Renting Homes (Wales) Act’s 2022 implementation.
Read the legislation for yourself, and contact your professional, local letting agent, Williams & Goodwin if you are unsure of anything. You can find full details of the act on the Welsh Government website.
At Williams & Goodwin, we help ensure that landlords stay compliant with the Renting Homes (Wales) Act and all other legislation. If you want to discuss your rental property situation with a member of the team, contact our offices in Bangor, Caernarfon, Holyhead and Llangefni to speak to your local estate agents.
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