Occupiers guaranteed minimum 12 months occupancy in Wales & how to regain possession
December 2022’s implementation of The Renting Homes (Wales) Act changed the way landlords regain possession of their property where the contract-holder (tenant) hasn’t breached the terms of the contract – commonly known as “no-fault evictions”.
In this scenario, landlords in Wales must now give occupiers a minimum six-month notice period in order to regain possession of their property.
What’s more, landlords are now unable to serve notice during the first six months of the tenancy, and they’re unable to serve notice during the fixed-term.
These two factors combine to have the effect of guaranteeing tenants a minimum 12-month occupancy where a six-month contract is signed, 18 months' occupancy where a 12-month contract is signed, so on and so forth. This is particularly relevant to landlords thinking of selling or moving back in in the near future, as they will now need to bear the consider the additional notice period in mind.
Landlords who may be tempted to respond to a legitimate request for a repair by issuing a possession notice – commonly known as a ‘retaliatory eviction’ – will no longer be entitled to possession if the Court believes the notice was issued to avoid carrying out the repair. In this scenario, landlords won’t be able to serve another ‘no fault’ notice for at least six months.
Changes to break clauses
For landlords in the habit of inserting a break clause into their tenancies, they’re now only allowed where the tenancy is for a fixed-term of two or more years. Furthermore, a landlord can’t activate a break clause until at least 18 months into the contract, using a minimum six months’ notice.
What about problematic occupiers?
Where there has been a breach of contract, the Act does allow landlords to issue a one-month possession notice, which is reduced if there are serious rent arrears, e.g. 2+ months’ rent owed, or there has been anti-social behaviour.
With all possession notices, if the contract-holder doesn’t give up possession on or before the date the notice expires, landlords must apply to the court for a possession order.
Can a landlord regain possession earlier if there has been no breach of contract?
A little-known section of the Act exists that allows landlords to exercise "estate management" grounds. If one of these grounds applies to the situation the landlord finds themselves in, they needn't wait at least six months to regain possession where there has been no breach of contract. Instead, they can serve a one-month possession notice (even if it's inside the fixed-term), citing more or more of these grounds.
The vast majority of estate management grounds are unlikely to ever apply to most landlords, but one appears to allow a landlord to issue a one-month possession notice if they intend to carry out work – possibly renovation or refurbishment work – and cannot reasonably do so whilst the contract-holder is in occupation. Another ground just requires there to be a "substantial estate management reason".
Serving notice won’t be possible unless compliant
Landlords who fail to comply with certain obligations, such as registering the deposit within the correct timeframe or registering/obtaining a licence through Rent Smart Wales, are unable to serve such possession notices, which will cause unwanted complications in regaining possession of their property.
Further reading
Want to know more? Head on over to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 or Welsh Government’s accompanying guidance.
Let CPS Homes help
Frustrated by the complexities of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act and the industry’s ever-changing laws & regulations? We're specialists in navigating through Welsh landlord legislation and the intricacies that other agents might miss. Our Compliance Team stay ahead of the curve, ensuring our clients always have ironclad occupation contracts and complete legal protection.
By instructing us to manage your property, we will...
- Work with you to put efficient processes in place well in advance of key dates for new legislation and regulations, ensuring you and your properties are compliant, safe and legal.
- Provide you with the most robust Written Statement of Occupation Contract you can find in Wales.
- Save you the cost of a Rent Smart Wales landlord licence and the hassle of ongoing training.
- Maximise your rental income by ensuring the property is always achieving its full potential.
- Provide you with your own representative within our Lettings and Accounts departments.
- Produce free, professional photography as part of our standard marketing package.
- Place you on our VIP Investor list where you'll get priority access to pre-market investment properties before they're listed online.
- Provide you with peace of mind via our Client Money Protection (CMP) policy, professional indemnity insurance, and redress scheme membership.
To discuss CPS Homes taking over management of your property, contact our Senior Property Investment & Market Advisor, Rhys Owen, today via rhys.owen@cpshomes.co.uk or 02920 668585.
The information contained within this article was correct at the date of publishing and is not guaranteed to remain correct in the present day.
