Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (’the Act’) came into force on 01 December 2022 and fundamentally changed the system for letting residential dwellings in Wales.
The Act simplifies the letting process and makes it easier for contract-holders (the name for tenants under the Act) and landlords by having one overarching Act in place which sets out the parties’ rights and obligations, as opposed to various pieces of legislation.
The Act covers both social and private landlords. This information provides an overview of the key provisions to assist private landlords in understanding how the legislation affects them. This is a high-level summary. Further guidance and templates will follow over the coming months.
1) Occupation Contracts (the equivalent of tenancy agreements). This is broken down into:
a. General overview
b. Terms of the occupation contract
c. What is a contract-holder
d. Joint contract-holders and succession
e. Termination
2) Deposit Scheme
3) Landlord’s repair obligations
4) Fitness for human habitation
5) Limits on the landlord’s obligations