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Thinking of renting your property

Renting your empty property can be an ideal way of providing an additional income; tends to improve the standard of the property and also discourages vandalism and crime.

Renting your empty property can be an ideal way of providing an income, improves the standard of the property and discourages vandalism and crime.

Letting a property to another person creates a legal relationship between the landlord and the tenant/contract-holder. However informal you intend the arrangement to be, it is bound by specific housing legislation. This legislation defines both your rights and responsibilities, and those of your tenant.

For independent legal advice on letting your property, you should contact a solicitor or professional residential letting agent.

Before letting your property, you may be required to consult your mortgage lender or your freeholder. You will also need to have adequate building insurance in place.

What do I need to provide?

Anyone who decides to let their property should have the following in place:

  • It should be fit for human habitation i.e. free from hazards to ensure it is safe to live in
  • Have hard-wired smoke detectors
  • A carbon monoxide detector in every room housing a gas-burning appliance.
  • Have an annual gas safety check
  • Have the electrical safety certificate in place on first occupation and then to be renewed every 5 years.
  • The structure and exterior of the property should be in good repair
  • Installations of water, gas and electricity for sanitation and space heating should be kept in proper working order. 

If the property you are letting is divided into a number of separate accommodation units (such as flats or bedsits) or you are letting to people who are not related to each other, it may be a House in Multiple Occupation (an HMO). There are specific requirements for the owner or manager of an HMO. These are legally enforceable and cover standards of fire safety and management and upkeep of the HMO's common parts and services. If you are thinking about letting out the property as an HMO you can read more about Houses in multiple occupation requirements in Swansea.

You have no legal requirement to provide furniture. Whether or not you decide to provide furniture could be influenced by the type of letting you intend to create. People wanting to rent a whole house may have their own furniture, alternatively students and others renting bedsits may have little of their own and therefore furnishing these properties may be appropriate.

All furniture and furnishings provided in a rental property should comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended).

What kind of tenancy?

The Renting Homes Act (Wales) 2016 governs all properties let by non-resident private landlords. Since this legislation came in to force on 1st December 2022, written occupation contracts have replaced previous tenancy agreements.

For all contracts a landlord must give the contract-holder (previously known as the tenant) a copy of the occupation contract within 14 days of the 'occupation date' (the day on which the contract-holder was entitled to move in).

There are three types of contracts

  • Secure Contract - mainly used by Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords.
  • Fixed term standard Occupation Contract - require both the contract-holder and the landlord to commit to a minimum term (often the first six months of occupation, but it can be longer). Once the initial contract period expires, the landlord can agree a new fixed term standard occupation contract, or, if the contract-holder remains in occupation (without a new contract), a periodic standard contract is automatically created.
  • Periodic Standard Occupation Contract - a contract which rolls over from one rental period to the next (e.g. from week to week or month to month).

For all contracts, the landlord cannot seek possession of the property for six months from the date of occupation and any notice given must give six months' notice to vacate (known as a 'landlord's notice').

If however, the contract-holder breaches the terms of the occupation contract, the landlord may seek possession sooner by serving a 'possession notice', which gives details of why the contract-holder is being asked to leave and the date by when they must leave. The amount of time the contract-holder has before they are expected to leave (the 'notice period') depends on the reason for the breach of contact. The occupation contract states what the different notice periods are.

Although most occupation contracts end by agreement between the landlord and the contract-holder, a landlord cannot evict without first obtaining a possession order from the County Court.

For further information on the Renting Homes Act refer to Landlords: housing law has changed (Renting Homes) (Wales.gov) (opens new window)

Other Legal Requirements

Whatever type of contract you provide, you will need to comply with the following:

  • Rent Smart Wales requirements to register the property and hold a licence to let and/or manage as a landlord or appoint a licensed agent to do the letting and management for you. Through the Rent Smart Wales website you can get more information and complete useful landlord training Rent Smart Wales (opens new window)
  • Ensure the property has an up-to-date Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)  - currently the minimum acceptable EPC rating is an E.
  • From April 2007, it became a legal requirement for all tenancy deposits or bonds to be secured correctly in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme. These include:

You should state clearly in the occupation contract the circumstances under which part, or all of the deposit, can be withheld at the end of the contract. It is also useful to take an inventory of furniture and the condition of the property. Some professional inventory companies can provide a detailed report to landlords for a fee. This can help to ensure any disputes are more easily resolved.

Failure to comply with any of the above could result in difficulty ending the occupation contract.

Rent

For tenancies created since the Housing Act 1988 there are few restrictions on the rent a landlord can charge, however you should consider the quality of the accommodation, its size and location. Take advice from local letting agents and check adverts in the press for rents of similar properties in your area.

If a landlord decides to change the amount of rent, they have to give two months' notice that the rent is changing. If you do change the rent, you will have to wait another year before you are able to change it again. 

Tenants who claim Housing Benefit / Universal Credit

If the contract-holder is on a low income or claiming benefits, they may be able to apply for Housing Benefit to help with rent costs and/or help with council tax costs. It is useful for you to check with them to see if they are entitled to claim.

You will need to clarify the following:

  • Will Housing Benefit meet the rent charged?
  • How long will it be before the first payment is made?
  • There are only specific circumstances where the housing benefit can be paid directly to a landlord including:
    • The contract-holder is eight weeks or more in rent arrears
    • They are vulnerable and unable to manage their affairs
    • Are unlikely to pay their rent
    • They are having deductions made from income support or Job Seeker's Allowance to pay off rent arrears.

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is a flat rate allowance based on the size of the household and the area in which a person lives. The LHA sets the maximum amount of benefit a person could get and then their income and savings are taken into account in order to decide how the amount of Housing Benefit.

For further information refer to

Benefit advice if you are a landlord

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction

Using a residential letting agent

Using a letting agent might be a particularly good idea if the property you intend to let is far from where you live, or you are frequently away for long periods.

What can letting agents do?

  • Find tenants
  • Take up references
  • Arrange tenancy deposits
  • Prepare inventories and contracts
  • Collect rents
  • Deal with emergency repairs
  • Monitor and chase rent arrears
  • Inspect the property from time to time
  • Be the licensed agent as part of Rent Smart Wales requirements.

A landlord should be clear what service they require from a letting agent and make sure the agent can and will provide these services. Choose your agent with care. Some letting companies are members of the Association of Residential Letting Agents and some may employ staff who are qualified members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. If you are going to entrust your property to an agent, you are entitled to as much assurance as you need to help assess their level of competence and so do not be afraid to check what service they can provide for different situations such as rent arrears, repairs etc.

If you are going to manage the property yourself you will need to consider:

  • Arrangements for collection/payment of rent
  • Procedure for emergencies
  • General agreement for repairs
  • A clear means for the tenant to contact you when necessary
  • You will need to hold the correct Rent Smart Wales licence.

Requirement to register the occupiers' details with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW)

Welsh Government has introduced regulations that impact on any landlord whose property receives water or sewerage services from DCWW.

The regulations require landlords to ensure DCWW is informed of any change of contract-holders in their properties within 21 days. If this is not done, the landlord can become jointly and severally liable for the water and sewerage charges.

You will need to give DCWW:

  • The property address
  • The title, full name and date of birth of all adult residents
  • The tenancy start date.

Landlord services from Welsh Water (opens new window) 

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Last modified on 06 February 2024