Martine Harris, our Head of Lettings will be explaining in a few blogs exactly what the changes are and what the changes will mean to Landlords and Tenants.

THE RENTING HOMES ( WALES ) ACT 2016

…..replaces the existing legislation from the Housing Act 2004 with a new tenancy structure for Wales. The idea behind the changes is to make the legal framework easier to understand for landlords, agents, and tenants.

THE MAIN CHANGES

This legislation is the biggest overhaul to housing law in Wales for decades and will pave the way for a single legal framework for both private and social tenancies. The main changes from the Act include the way contracts are provided, the way homes are maintained and how landlords and contract holders will communicate.

The Act creates two types of landlord:

Community landlords – who tend to be local authorities, registered social landlords and private registered providers of social housing.

Private landlords - basically any landlords who are not Community Landlords. Harris and Birt deal mainly with private landlords.

OCCUPATION CONTRACTS

Occupation contracts are what we used to refer to as tenancy agreements. There are two types of occupation contacts – a secure contract and a standard contract.

• Secure contract (which is periodic and more commonly used by landlords operating in social housing).

• Standard contract (which can be periodic or fixed term, and typically used by private landlords).

STANDARD OCCUPATION CONTRACTS

People who rent homes in Wales do so under a tenancy and under the Act this will remain the case, but regardless of whether an occupier is a tenant or licensee, they will (in most cases) rent their home under a standard occupation contract (and the Act now refers to them not as tenants but as contract holders).

WHAT ARE THE KEY TERMS OF THE CONTRACT?

There are four types of terms that can feature in occupation contracts and the written statement must contain all the key terms of the contract.

Fundamental Terms

Cover the most important aspects of the contract, including the possession procedures and the landlord’s obligations regarding repair.

Supplementary Terms

Deal with the more practical, day-to-day matters applying to the occupation contract, for example, the requirement for a contract holder to notify the landlord if the property is going to be empty for four weeks or more.

Key Matters

The names of the parties and address of the property. These must be inserted in every contract.

Additional Terms

Addresses any other specifically agreed matters, for example a term which relates to the keeping of pets. Any additional terms must be fair, as required by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

**Landlords are required to issue a Written Statement of the Occupation Contract to all Contract-Holders

WHAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL TERMS?

Fundamental terms are set out within The Act and cover the most important aspects of the contract, including the possession procedures and the landlord’s obligations regarding repair.

Landlords and contract holders can discuss fundamental provisions and consider changes known as modifications. This could include changes to the contract or deleting a clause in the contract. However, this can only be achieved if it is advantageous to the contract holder. There are also some fundamental changes that are mandatory and must be included without modification. A few have been listed below but this is not an exhaustive list -

• The requirement to use a deposit scheme.
• Anti-social / criminal behaviour.
• Permissible termination.
• Possession claims.
• Death of Contract-Holders.
• Joint contract holders ceasing to be a party to the occupation contract.

WHAT ARE SUPPLEMENTARY TERMS?

Supplementary terms deal with the more practical, day to day matters applying to the Occupation Contract. For example, the requirement to pay rent on time or taking care of the property.

WHAT ARE ADDITIONAL TERMS?

Additional terms address any other specifically agreed matters. For example, a term which relates to keeping pets or garden maintenance. Any additional terms must be fair, as required by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.