The tenancy trail

A bit more about Occupation Contracts

They can either be for a fixed term or be a periodic tenancy.

Like ASTs, they can also also be

• For the whole of a whole house or flat.  Where if there are two or more contract holders they all sign the same contract on a ‘joint and several’ basis
• For a contract for a room in a shared house.  Where the contract holder has ‘exclusive occupation’ of their own room (normally just their bedroom but it could be two or more rooms) and share use of the ‘common parts.  Normally the kitchen, bathroom and maybe a sitting rooms / lounge.

Occupation contracts

Unlike England, in Wales landlords will incur a financial penalty if they fail to provide a written occupation contract to their contract holders within 14 days of the occupation date, and there are numerous fundamental and supplementary terms which must be included.

The Welsh government have provided ‘model contracts’, but landlords should never use these unamended as they omit many crucial clauses for landlords.  For example:

• Making rent payable in advance (as by default it is payable in arrears
• Deposit clauses (without which you cannot normally make a claim against the deposit) and
• Pet prohibition clauses

Landlord Law has occupation contracts for

• Fixed-term contracts (which provide for the situation if it runs on as a periodic contract, to protect your position)
• Periodic contracts, and
• A fixed-term contract for a room in a shared house

These have all been carefully drafted to include all the clauses that landlords need to protect their position.

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO)

An HMO is not really an occupation type in the same way as an occupation contract is.  It refers to a  property where there are three or more people who form two or more ‘households’.

So you can have an HMO which is an occupation contract, and also an HMO where a landlord has two or more lodgers.

The type of contract you have also does not matter.  So a house with three or more tenants on a ‘joint and several’ contract will be an HMO if they form two or more households.  It is not true that you only get an HMO where the contract holders in a property have separate contracts.  Indeed with the new rules which allow periodic contract holders to end their share of a joint contract, it may be more convenient to rent under a periodic joint and several contract.

We have a lot more on HMOs for members on Landlord Law, which you will mostly find in  this section.

You can also see all our Welsh content via our Wales Page here.

And finally

I hope you have enjoyed this Tenancy Trail and that it has been useful for you. 

If you are not already a member of Landlord Law you can join  here.