One hundred days of Renting Homes Wales
Today marks one hundred days since Renting Homes (Wales) came into force, changing almost all of the housing laws in Wales. Here NRLA policy manager James Wood explains more about the new legislation and issues that the Welsh Government needs to resolve.
December 1 marked the introduction of Renting Homes (Wales) Act. Since then, landlords have had to get to grips with a whole host of new requirements when it comes to letting properties in Wales, including new contracts, forms and terms and conditions, changes to notice periods and new health and safety requirements.
The NRLA has produced a substantial suite of new documents and guides to help landlords navigate some of these complexities, and over the coming weeks we will be publishing even more resources for members. We are also running regular webinars and training sessions to help landlords get up to speed with Renting Homes (Wales).
However, many landlords still feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the new rules and the numerous ‘grey areas’ that exist within the legislation.
The NRLA is in talks with the Welsh Government, asking for clarification on a number of issues as regards the terms of the new contracts and the absence of essential forms.
Areas of concern
Major issues include the question of ‘time travelling’ tenancy requirements.
One of the most problematic issues with Renting Homes (Wales) is that it may not be possible to renew some contracts after May 31st this year without falling foul of the law.
If your contract-holders (the new term for tenants) moved in after December 1st 2022, then things are fairly straightforward.
However, there are issues for pre-existing tenancies.
If your contract-holders moved in before December 1 then you have what’s known as a ‘converted contracts’. These contracts have their own special requirements that will always apply, even if you renew or replace that contract later on.
One of the requirements of such contracts is that a ‘written statement’ (a written copy of the terms) must be provided by May 31 this year.
Due to a technicality this date – May 31, 2023 – will always be the deadline for providing the written statement if you have a converted contract. This means that when a tenant comes to renew (or if the contract becomes periodic) this deadline will remain….. even after the date has passed.
This may just seem like an anomaly, an oddity that can be ignored. But ignore it at your peril.... the reality is that missing this deadline can prevent you from gaining possession of your property should you need to – and could see you fined for not providing it on time.
Fortunately, after the NRLA raised this issue with them, the Welsh Government has confirmed its legal team is considering options for further amendments that would fix this issue and make it easier for landlords to comply with the converted contract requirements.
In the meantime, we would recommend waiting to renew or issue your converted contracts for a few weeks until we see what the results of these changes are. Otherwise, you may have to issue updated terms later on to your contract-holders.
There are also issues around possession orders.
One of the other big problems is that, as it stands, two of the routes to gaining possession are unavailable due to the Welsh Government’s failure to provide the appropriate paperwork.
In Wales you should still be able to access the accelerated possession route. This means the possession order is issued by a judge without the need for a hearing.
Unfortunately, the form needed to apply for this has not been updated since 2017 and does not include any of the information required for making a possession claim under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act.
Landlords can still apply for an in-person hearing to get a possession order, but it is more complicated and the forms that are available to use (N5 and N119) aren’t specifically designed for use in this way.
Similarly, you can’t make an application via Possession Claim Online at the moment - a route that is supposed to be available whenever you serve a notice for rent arrears.
The NRLA has been assured by the Welsh Government that this is a pressing matter for them and that they are hoping both issues will be resolved in the near future.
Find out more
Of course, these aren’t the only concerns when it comes to Renting Homes (Wales).
Following the success of the February Question and Answer Webinar on the Renting Homes (Wales) Act, which welcomed more than 400 attendees, the NRLA will be hosting a second session at 6pm on Monday 24th April.
This session will be open exclusively to NRLA members. Landlords are invited to submit questions ahead of time to be answered by our team on the day. To find out more and to register click here.