Renting Services
Renting a home in Wales works differently from England. Here are clear answers for contract-holders - covering occupation contracts, deposits, notice periods, repairs and safety - all grounded in the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
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Since 1 December 2022, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 has governed renting across Wales. If you've rented in England before, the words change: you're a contract-holder, not a tenant; you sign an occupation contract, not a tenancy agreement; and a private let is usually a standard contract. Below, our Cardiff lettings team answers the questions renters ask us most.
Frequently asked
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Since the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 came into force on 1 December 2022, renters in Wales are 'contract-holders', not 'tenants'. The document you sign is an 'occupation contract', not a tenancy agreement, and a private let is usually a 'standard contract'.
Yes. Your landlord must give you a written statement of the occupation contract, and it must be provided within 14 days of the day you move in. It sets out the key terms, your rights and the landlord's obligations.
Yes. Landlords must register with Rent Smart Wales, and anyone carrying out letting or management work (the landlord doing it themselves, or their agent) must be licensed. It is a legal requirement across Wales, including Cardiff.
No. Right to Rent immigration checks apply in England only. They are not part of renting a home in Wales, so a Cardiff landlord should not be asking you to prove immigration status under that scheme.
Under the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 most fees are banned. Only 'permitted payments' are allowed: the rent, a security deposit, a holding deposit, default payments, and certain payments in default set out in the contract. Charging anything else is prohibited.
A holding deposit is capped at the equivalent of one week's rent. It is a permitted payment used to reserve the property while paperwork is sorted, and rules govern when it must be repaid to you.
Your deposit must be protected in a government-approved deposit scheme within 30 days of receipt, and you must be given the prescribed information about where and how it is held.
No. For a standard contract the landlord must use the prescribed Section 104 notice, give you at least 2 months' notice of the increase, and generally can only raise the rent once in any 12-month period.
Standard contracts give strong security. A landlord cannot use the no-fault Section 173 notice during the first 6 months of occupation, and must give at least 6 months' notice - so in practice you have a minimum of around 12 months' security from the start.
Section 173 is the 'no-fault' notice a landlord uses to end a standard contract without giving a reason. It replaces the old Section 21 process. It requires a minimum of 6 months' notice and cannot be served in the first 6 months of occupation.
No. A landlord cannot serve a valid Section 173 notice unless they are registered and licensed with Rent Smart Wales, your deposit is protected (with prescribed information given), you have been given the written statement of the contract, and the property's safety duties have been met.
The landlord is responsible for keeping the structure and exterior of the property in repair, and for the installations supplying water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water. They must also keep the home fit for human habitation throughout your occupation.
The Fitness for Human Habitation rules require the landlord to ensure the home is safe to live in. This includes specific safety duties around alarms, electrical installations and gas, and keeping the property free of serious hazards throughout the contract.
There must be mains-wired, interlinked smoke alarms on every storey of the property, and a carbon monoxide alarm fitted in any room with a gas, oil or solid-fuel appliance.
The landlord must obtain an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) at least every 5 years. Where there is gas in the property, an annual gas safety check is also required.
The landlord. Repairs to the structure and exterior, and to the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water, are the landlord's responsibility under the occupation contract.
A Section 173 no-fault notice requires a minimum of 6 months' notice, and it cannot be served during the first 6 months of occupation. That combination is what gives contract-holders roughly 12 months' minimum security.
The landlord must be registered and licensed with Rent Smart Wales, have protected your deposit and given the prescribed information, provided the written statement of the contract, and met the property's safety duties. If any are missing, the Section 173 notice is not valid.
Yes. Because a landlord cannot validly serve a Section 173 notice without having provided the written statement of the occupation contract, keeping your copy is important if there is ever a dispute about ending the contract.
The headline rules
A few figures that shape every standard contract in Cardiff.
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