Welsh government should have ‘listened to landlords’

The National Residential Landlords’ Association (NRLA) has hit out after the Welsh government unveiled draft legislation to clarify parts of its Renting Homes Wales Act.

The move will see the terms of converted contracts and any renewals that replace them being changed.

This will see several regulatory grey areas being resolved that could, potentially, cause issues for landlords during court proceedings.

‘Announcement provides some much-needed clarity for landlords’

The NRLA’s chief executive, Ben Beadle, said: “This announcement provides some much-needed clarity for landlords on when they need to meet the obligations set out in the Renting Homes Wales Act.

“Above all, it means that landlords now have a level of certainty with respect to the timeline they can now work towards over the coming months.”

He added: “However, all of this confusion and subsequent tweaking to regulations was totally avoidable.

“The Welsh government should have listened to the concerns of industry stakeholders properly and in our view, much more needs to be done by the Welsh Government to restore the confidence of landlords, which has been badly damaged by the botched roll-out of these reforms.”

Converted contract terms

The new legislation means that the original converted contract terms should be provided by May 31st 2023, and any renewed terms agreed already should be provided by June 14th 2023.

If there has been a change in the identity of the contract holder – the term used for a tenant under the Act – between December 1st 2022 and May 31st 2023, the landlord must provide a copy of the written statement to them by June 14 2023.

After June 1st, if a new contract replaces a converted contract, a landlord will have 14 days from the start of the contract to provide a written statement.

This allows landlords to safely renew their contracts after this date without facing penalties and makes it easier administratively as these contracts are largely indistinguishable from standard contracts.

Existing assured shorthold tenancies and licences in Wales

The news follows the introduction of the Renting Homes Wales Act on 1 December 2022, which requires that all existing assured shorthold tenancies and licences in Wales should be converted into occupation contracts.

The Welsh Government’s announcement means that landlords will now be able to work towards a firm deadline to ensure their contracts are compliant with the Act’s key requirements.

Landlords wanting more information about the clarifications for the Section 12 amendments can read a PDF of the new legislation from the NRLA website.