The Welsh Government has published draft legislation that changes the terms of converted contracts and any renewals that replace them, closing off a number of grey areas which had raised concern.
The new legislation means that the original converted contract terms - old tenancies for renters - should be provided by May 31 this year and any renewed terms agreed already should be provided by June 14 this year.
If there has been a change in the identity of the contract-holder between December 1 2022 and May 31 2023, the landlord must provide a copy of the written statement to them by June 14.
After June 1, if a new contract replaces a converted contract, landlords will have 14 days from the start of the contract to provide a written statement. This allows landlords to safely renew their contracts after this date without facing penalties and makes it easier administratively as these contracts are largely indistinguishable from standard contracts.
This news follows the introduction of the Renting Homes Wales Act last December, which requires that all existing assured shorthold tenancies and licences in Wales should be converted into occupation contracts.
A statement from the National Residential Landlords Association says the Welsh Government’s announcement means that landlords will now be able to work towards a firm deadline as regards ensuring their contracts are compliant with the Renting Homes Wales Act’s key requirements in this area.
NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle says: “This announcement provides some much needed clarity for landlords on when they need to meet the obligations set out in the Renting Homes Wales Act. Above all, it means that landlords now have a level of certainty with respect to the timeline they can now work towards over the coming months.
“However, all of this confusion and subsequent tweaking to regulations was totally avoidable.
“The Welsh Government should have listened to the concerns of industry stakeholders properly and in our view, much more needs to be done by the Welsh Government to restore the confidence of landlords, which has been badly damaged by the botched roll-out of these reforms.”
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