Tessa’s Ten Top Tips for Welsh Landlords
- Be aware that the law changed dramatically for rented property in Wales, with the coming into force of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2017 on 1 December 2022. If you are unfamiliar with the new laws, you should do training to bring you up to date. However, much of the English law still applies in Wales, for example, the laws relating to disrepair and fitness for human habitation, although sometimes the law is set out in different but very similar regulations.
- There is now different terminology – tenants and licensees are both now called ‘contract holders’, tenancies and licenses are now known as ‘Occupation Contracts’ and tenancy or license agreements are now called written statements of occupation contracts. Also, a ‘converted contract’ is a contract which existed prior to 1 December 2022.
- If your contract is a converted contract, you should have served a ‘conversion statement’ on the contract holders by 1 June 2023. If you failed to do this, you should still serve it, as you will not be able to use the no-fault possession procedure until this has been done. This needs to be done even if your contract holders signed a new contract – as this conversion statement is telling them what the terms of their contract were between 1 December 2022 and 1 June, or the date your new contract was signed, if later.
- It is now mandatory to provide contract holders with a written statement of their occupation contract, and financial penalties will apply if you don’t do this.
- There are now numerous fundamental and supplementary prescribed terms that must be included in written statements of occupation contracts, and they can only be changed if you follow the strict rules (and make it clear in your agreement which terms have been amended). Failure to do this correctly can result in financial penalties. All the fundamental and supplementary terms are set out in the Welsh Government Model Contracts.
- Landlords are entitled to include additional terms, so long as they do not conflict with the fundamental and supplementary terms and comply with the unfair terms rules. Landlords should NEVER use the model contracts unamended as they omit many clauses essential for landlords – such as deposit clauses, a pets clause and provision for rent to be payable in advance.
- Landlords must also provide details of their address on the special Welsh prescribed form, failing which financial penalties will apply
- If a fixed-term agreement is given to contract holders, it is important that you use a form of agreement that includes the ‘potential’ clauses which will apply if the contract becomes periodic. If this is not done, you may be in difficulties if your contract holders refuse to sign a new fixed term agreement as any changes made to the fundamental and supplementary terms will be lost when the contract becomes periodic. This could seriously adversely affect your rights as a landlord.
- There are now new rules about the circumstances under which landlords, and in particular, contract holders, can end the contract. Note that during periodic contracts, individual contract holders can end their liability under the contract.
- There is also a procedure to allow landlords to recover possession if the property has been abandoned by the contract holders, provided the contract includes the correct clause (not included in the model contract) and the proper forms are used.
Further Resources for Landlord Law members:
- All of our Welsh content is listed on the open-access Wales page (although the links will only work if you are logged in as a member.
- We have a number of Landlord Law Welsh occupation contracts which have been carefully drafted to avoid the problems discussed above.
- Welsh members confused by the new rules can ask solicitor Tessa Shepperson questions in the members forum area.
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