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The Welsh government has published a checklist of actions landlords must take to comply with the biggest update in housing law for private landlords and renters in decades.
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 comes into force on Thursday (December 1, 2022).
The government says the new law will change how rented homes are managed and lived in.
Landlords can read about the changes in detail from information published online.
Meanwhile, the checklist picks out eight must-do tasks for December 1.
First, Welsh assembly members have phrased the changes in new jargon.
The contract holder is swapped for the tenant, while assured shorthold tenancies are scrapped in favour of a written statement of occupation contract. Converted contracts are tenancy agreements before December 1, 2022, that need upgrading to the new rules.
The occupation date is the day the contract-holder moves in.
Here are the eight tasks:
Requirement | Statutory provision | For new contracts from December 1, 2022 | For converted contracts in place before December 1, 2022 |
Contract-holder must receive a written statement of occupation contract | Section 31 Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 | Within 14 days of moving in | By May 31, 2023.
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Contract-holder given notice of information about the landlord – form RHW2 | Section 39 Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 | Within 14 days of moving in | By May 31, 2023. |
Contract-holder given a copy of valid EPC | s.6, Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 | When marketing of property to let, with a copy provided to contract-holder at the beginning of the contract | This is an existing legal duty. The information does not need to be re-issued. |
Prospective contract-holder given information about holding deposits (providing right of first refusal of a dwelling whilst checks are undertaken). | Schedule 2, Renting Homes (Fees Etc) Wales Act 2019 and The Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Holding Deposit) (Specified Information) (Wales) Regulations 2019 | Provision of information before payment of holding deposit. Repayment of holding deposit usually 15 days after payment. | This is an existing legal duty. The information does not need to be re-issued. |
Protection of deposit and provision of information to contract-holder | Section 45 Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and The Renting Homes (Deposit Schemes) (Required Information) (Wales) Regulations 2022 | Within 30 days of the deposit being paid by contract-holder | This is an existing legal duty. The information does not need to be re-issued. |
Section 91, Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 | The dwelling is fit to live in from the occupation date. This includes having mains-wired smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms where required and an Electrical Condition Report (ECR) | The home is fit to live in from the date of conversion. This includes fitting carbon monoxide alarms. Landlords have 12 months, until November 30, 2023, to install mains-wired smoke alarms and to provide an ECR. | |
Give contract-holder a copy of a valid Electrical Condition Report (ECR) | Regulation 6, The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 | Within 14 days of occupation date (and within 14 days of inspection for subsequent ECRs) | Within 14 days of November 30, 2023. |
Give contract-holder a copy of a valid Gas Safety Certificate | Regulation 36, Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 | Before moving in | This is an existing legal duty. The information does not need to be re-issued. |
The contract is a rewritten tenancy agreement. The written statement includes the terms of the occupation contract and explanatory information. The written statement can also provide other documents, such as the prescribed form RHW2 (landlord address), deposit information and safety certificates. Subscribers can download written statements of occupation contracts for free.
Some terms can be edited, but alterations must be agreed upon with the contract-holder.
Under the legislated supplementary term, an inventory must be offered even if the home is unfurnished. However, it’s possible to amend this term as we have in Tenancy Builder, so it is up to you if you supply an inventory (the contract-holder must agree to the change).
Landlord’s Notice is similar to a Section 21 no-fault eviction. The new notice is under Section 173 of the Welsh Act.
Under the notice, if a tenancy agreement was signed before December 1 and is periodic on the 1 December, a two-month notice applies until 31 May 2023. After that, six months' notice is required.
For contracts starting on or after December 1, notice is six months.
Remember, for a new contract from 1 December, a no-reason notice cannot be served during the fixed term of an occupation contract. This means a contract-holder who has not broken the terms of their agreement can stay in their home for at least 12 months.
The contract will convert automatically on December 1, but the Section 21 proceedings may continue. However, the notice only has a shelf life of 2 months from the commencement of the Act or two months from the expiry of the notice, whichever is later.
Once the Act commences, the section 8 notice only has a shelf life of 12 months from service or six months from commencement, whichever comes first.
This new website you're reading has been designed with the 1 December in mind and contains full information about all aspects of Renting Homes in Wales.
For deciding how best to convert an existing tenancy, please see this page (subscribers only).
The landlord handbook is good for more information about occupation contracts (subscribers only).