LANDLORD AND TENANT
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act: A Guide for Landlords
What changed on 1 December 2022, what you must do as a landlord in Wales, and a checklist you can print and work through.
What changed on 1 December 2022
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 replaced assured shorthold tenancies with “occupation contracts”. Most private rentals are “standard” occupation contracts, and tenants became “contract-holders”. Existing tenancies converted automatically. The main changes for landlords were new paperwork, new safety standards, and a different process for ending a contract, because there is no Section 21 in Wales.
Your main duties as a landlord
- Register with Rent Smart Wales, and hold a licence if you manage the property yourself.
- Give a written statement of the contract within 14 days of the occupation date.
- Protect any deposit in an authorised deposit scheme within 30 days, and give the contract-holder the required information.
- Keep the home fit for human habitation, including safety checks and working alarms.
- Carry out repairs and respect the contract-holder's right to live in the home undisturbed.
These duties matter beyond the day-to-day: if you have not met them, you may be unable to serve a valid notice to end the contract. See evicting a tenant in Wales.
Landlord compliance checklist (Wales)
Tick each item. Use the print button to keep a copy for your records.
Older tenancies
If you let a property before 1 December 2022, your tenancy converted automatically into an occupation contract, and you should have issued a written statement within six months. If you have not, you may be unable to serve a section 173 notice until it is put right. We can prepare the written statement and check the rest of your paperwork.
Frequently asked questions
What is a written statement of the contract?
It is the document setting out the terms of the occupation contract, which you must give to the contract-holder within 14 days of the occupation date. If you do not, you can be liable to pay compensation, and you may be stopped from serving a section 173 notice.
Do my old assured shorthold tenancies still apply?
No. On 1 December 2022 existing tenancies in Wales converted automatically into occupation contracts. Landlords had six months to issue a written statement for converted contracts. If you have not done so, speak to us.
What does 'fit for human habitation' mean?
Under section 91 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and the Fitness for Human Habitation Regulations 2022, a landlord must have regard to 29 matters and circumstances, including damp and mould, heating, fire safety, electrical hazards, carbon monoxide and security. The main practical requirements are working, interlinked smoke alarms on every storey, carbon monoxide alarms in any room with a fuel-burning appliance, an electrical installation condition report at least every five years, and gas appliances kept safe, with gas safety checks as the gas safety regulations require. We can check your property against the full rules.
Useful links
- Rent Smart Wales — register and apply for a licence
- Welsh Government: Renting Homes FAQs for landlords — official answers
- Deposit Protection Service — an authorised deposit scheme
More helpful sites are collected on our useful links page. We are not responsible for the content of other websites. This page gives general information, not legal advice, and is correct as at October 2026.
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