The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 – Implementation delayed until 1^st December 2022

It was recently announced by the Welsh Government that the Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill implementation date will be delayed until 1^st December 2022.

Julie James MS, Minister for Climate Change said:

“…I have over recent months received representations from landlords, and particularly social landlords, who have requested that implementation of the Act be delayed.  As such, and in the light of the unprecedented pressures they face, including Covid recovery and supporting those who are fleeing the war in Ukraine, I have decided to postpone implementation of the Act until 1st December 2022.  This will allow more time for landlords to complete the necessary preparations ahead of implementation.”

She acknowledged that:

“…landlords from both private and public sectors, as well as letting agents and other stakeholders, would benefit from additional time to familiarise themselves with the various pieces of subordinate legislation – the final tranche of which are due to be made in July…”

For the full statement visit: https://gov.wales/written-statement-implementation-renting-homes-wales-act-2016-deferral-implementation-date

The Act will implement a number of rule changes to the way properties are let in Wales, including the introduction of new Occupation Contracts which will replace the current Tenancy Agreement. All Landlords and Agents with properties in Wales will be affected by these changes.

Some of the key changes to be aware of are:

·        Occupation Contracts – all tenancy agreements will be automatically converted to Occupation Contracts and tenants will become ‘contract holders’. Any new agreements created from the revised date of 1^st December 2022 will be Occupation Contracts and will need to adhere to be new Welsh Government’s prescribed format.

·        Written Statement - Landlords will have six months from the implementation date of the act to issue a new ‘written statement’ of occupation to all existing tenants/ contract holders to successfully convert them to Occupation Contracts.

·        Contract Termination – it makes permanent the requirement to serve notice for a period of six months, where there is no breach by the contract holder, and this cannot be served until after month six. Break clauses will also only be permitted in agreements of 2 years or more and won’t be exercisable within the first 18 months.

·        Fitness for Human Habitation (FFHH) – properties will only be allowed to be let and rent payable if they are considered ‘FFHH’. This includes having a satisfactory electrical safety certificate (EICR), a mains wired interlinked smoke alarm system and a carbon monoxide alarm in every room with a gas, oil or solid fuel burning appliance, including gas boilers.

More information is available at https://gov.wales/housing-law-changing-renting-homes but if you have any questions regarding what this means for you and how Peter Alan can help you please don’t hesitate to contact me directly by email on angela@peteralan.co.uk or contact your local branch

Rents have also risen more in Wales than anywhere else in the UK in the last 12 months and if you’re looking for an up to date valuation of your rental property either visit www.peteralan.co.uk/#valuation for an instant online valuation of your property or visit https://www.peteralan.co.uk/pages/request_valuation to request a valuation and we’ll arrange to meet you and discuss how we can help.