New Laws For Welsh Home Rentals

From July, new laws will apply to property rentals located in Wales which landlords and tenants need to be aware of.

On 15 July 2022, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 will come into effect including all regulations made under the act.

Under the new law “occupation contracts” will replace existing tenancies and licences.

Below are the key points that landlords and tenants governed by Welsh law should be aware of from 15 July 2022.

Rules for an existing Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)

From 15 July 2022 all existing ASTs will be converted to a fixed term standard occupation contract.
For existing contracts, you will need to provide the tenants (now ‘contract holders’) with a Written Statement of the contract by 15 January 2023.
This statement must contain all the new terms of the contract. For new contracts this must be provided within 14 days of the occupation date.
The new Written Statement can be issued as a hard copy. If the contract holder agrees, it can be issued electronically. There is no statutory requirement for the contract holder to sign the new document, but it is recommended that the contract holder does sign.

New Requirements from July

A landlord will be required to give 2 months’ notice of a rent variation.
Landlords will be required to ensure the property is Fit for Human Habitation.
A contract holder will not be liable to pay rent for any period where the property is deemed unfit. Landlords will be unable to issue a Landlord’s Notice or break clause if the property does not meet the requirements.
Landlords must ensure properties have a working carbon monoxide alarm in each room that has a gas appliance, an oil-fired combustion appliance or a solid fuel burning combustion appliance.
At least one smoke alarm in a property must be connected to the dwelling’s electrical supply.
A landlord must ensure that there is a valid electrical condition report in respect of the property for each period of occupation. This report must be provided to the contract holder.

Obtaining possession

If a section 21 notice was served prior to implementation of the new law, possession proceedings can be continued, whilst the AST will be automatically converted to an occupation contract.
The current section 21 Notice will be converted to a section 173 Notice under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
During the fixed term of the contract, a no-fault notice (s.21/s.173) cannot be issued, therefore, we would advise you to use six month fixed-term contracts, as opposed to one year fixed-term contracts.
At the end of the fixed term, a periodic standard contract will automatically arise. A section 173 notice can be used at this point, but landlords will be required to give the contract holder 6 months’ notice as opposed to 2 months under s.21.

Please contact a member of the Property Litigation Team for further advice on how to comply with the new Welsh legislation.

James Parden (Senior Associate)
e: james.parden@brmlaw.co.uk
t: 0114 3496983

Kate Fowler (Associate)
e: kate.fowler@brmlaw.co.uk
t: 0114 3496982

Sheffield Office: 0114 3497000

Chesterfield Office: 01246 555111

info@brmlaw.co.uk

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