Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016: information for landlords

Information for landlords on the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 - effective from 1 December 2022.

Welsh Government guidance

Landlords: housing law is changing (Renting Homes) (Welsh Government) (opens new window)
Landlord guidance (Renting Homes): foreign language versions (Welsh Government) (opens new window)

Supported accommodation licence extension

The Renting Homes (Wales) 2016 Act allows for a landlord / support provider of supported accommodation to use a licence instead of an occupation contract for the first six months of a resident's occupancy. After 6 months from the start date of the licence a licence will automatically become an occupation contract. However the Act allows for a landlord to apply to the local authority to extend the licence by up to 3 months.

The involvement of the local authority in the decision to extend the relevant period is specified at paragraph 15(5) of Part 5 of Schedule 2 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.

A landlord (other than a local housing authority) may not give a notice of extension without the consent of the local housing authority in whose area the accommodation is provided. This provision ensures that local authorities are aware of the number and reasons for licence extensions.

At least 6 weeks before the licence period is due to end, the landlord / support provider may decide to apply for consent from us to extend the licence.

What is the process for applying for a licence extension?

Any landlords / support providers wishing to do this should apply for consent to extend the licence.

Email licenceextensions@swansea.gov.uk with completed forms and with any queries.

In all cases, attempts should be made to allow council officers the maximum period of 2 weeks to make a decision. Officers will apply their discretion where the full 2 weeks has not been given, however this would need to be in extenuating circumstances.

Temporary exclusions

A supported standard contract contains a term that gives the landlord the power to exclude a contract-holder for a specified period (up to 48 hours). Any exclusion issued by a landlord / support provider that formally requires the contract-holder to leave the dwelling, ranging from one hour to 48 hours, will be considered as a temporary exclusion. The right to temporarily exclude cannot be exercised more than three times within a 6 month period.

Welsh Government has published statutory guidance, which sets out the requirements that landlords must meet to exercise this power: Supported accommodation: temporary exclusion guidance (Welsh Government) (opens new window)

Temporary exclusions are not intended to be used as a punitive action against a contract holder. They are intended to be used to ensure the safety of fellow residents and staff of a project or to prevent an eviction and allow a contract holder to reflect on their behaviour which has led to the temporary exclusion. They must only be used as a last resort and landlords must document all steps taken to avoid the need to exercise this power.

A landlord must have a Temporary Exclusion Policy to be able to use the temporary exclusion clause.

A review of all temporary exclusions should be carried out within 14 days of the temporary exclusion taking place. The process for undertaking a review should be set out in the Landlord's Temporary Exclusion Policy.

As per the Welsh Government guidance, we participate in the post-exclusion review meeting where possible.

Requests to attend a review should be sent to temporaryexclusions@swansea.gov.uk.