Renting Homes Wales: tenancies converting to an occupation contract
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Last updated 7 June 2023 - updated templates for those serving written statements late
Introduction
On December 1 2022, when Renting Homes Wales came into force, all existing assured shorthold tenancies and licences in Wales converted into occupation contracts.
These new occupation contracts operate differently, with a number of significant changes that landlords and tenants need to comply with and be aware of.
To ensure that everyone is aware of their changing rights and responsibilities, landlords are required to provide updated terms to their tenants no later than May 31 2023. The new contracts will be a blend of clauses from the existing AST and the mandatory terms from the legislation.
Alongside this, landlords need to be aware that some of the Renting Homes Wales legislation operates differently for pre-existing tenancies. For example, notice periods differ depending on when the contract began. Landlords with converted contracts are also given additional time to comply with some of the regulations around providing information and fitness for human habitation.
This page provides guidance on converting an existing tenancy agreement into a new occupation contract. It also provides guidance on the key differences in law for converted contracts.
New requirements from June 1st
Now that the deadline for issuing converted written statements has passed,landlords should have provided the written statement of the converted contract that was in place on December 1st. Landlords should now turn their attention to the variations made to the contract by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (Amendment of Schedule 12) Regulations 2023.
This legislation came into force on June 1st 2023 and varied certain terms in some converted contracts and any substitute contracts that followed on from this converted contract.
Where this happens the landlord must notify the contract-holder of the change within 14 days of the variation. This can be done by either providing an updated written statement or via a statement of variation that explains which terms in the contract have changed. Failure to do this can lead to financial penalties so it is vital that you issue them in a timely fashion.
The NRLA has produced a number of statements of variation to manage this that can be found later in this guidance.
This page includes detailed guidance on the conversion process from ASTs to Occupation Contracts, including which terms to amend, sample resources which are reserved for NRLA members. It also includes templates for converting your own contracts. It has been updated to include the latest draft legislation published by the Welsh Government.
In order to gain access to this guidance you will need to register as a member, which will also grant you access to all of the support on our website. Click on the link below to register and gain access