Following our blog in July on the consultation on default fees and prescribed information relating to the tenant fees ban in Wales (which can be found here), the Welsh Government has now issued its response.
The response confirms that, following the responses given, the Welsh Government intends to bring forward regulations in two stages:
The first is legislation to set out the prescribed information which must be given by a landlord or agent to a tenant before a holding deposit can be taken. A landlord or agent will be prohibited from collecting a holding deposit if the prescribed information has not been provided. It is intended that these regulations are made before the end of this year.
The second is legislation to describe the default payments (and the limits of such payments) which a landlord or agent can charge where a tenant is in default of their tenancy agreement. If default fees are charged over and above the limits to be set, the excess will become a prohibited payment. The Welsh Government intends to make these regulations early in 2020.
Once the regulations have been passed, the Welsh Government will issue updated guidance to take account of the changes.
Here at Simply-Docs we will monitor the progress of the proposed legislation and will update the documents in our property portfolio following any legislation passed (as and where necessary).