What Are My Obligations as a Landlord in Wales?

Who this guide is for

People who rent out a home in Wales to a private tenant, or are about to, including landlords who use a letting agent. Since 1 December 2022, tenancies in Wales are "occupation contracts" under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and tenants are "contract-holders". It covers:

• Registering with Rent Smart Wales, and when you need a licence.
• The written statement of the contract.
• Fitness for human habitation: smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and electrical testing, plus gas safety.
• Deposits, rent increases, and how a contract can lawfully be ended.
• Lodgers who live in your own home.

What this guide does not cover

• Homes in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland: the law is different there. See the England guide, the Scotland guide or the Northern Ireland guide.
• Councils and housing associations as landlords: this guide is for private landlords only.
• Contract-holders asking about their own rights: see our eviction guide.
• Fixed-term contracts, and contracts that were fixed-term tenancies on 1 December 2022: the notice rules are more complicated. This guide does not cover them: ask Rent Smart Wales or a solicitor.
• Licences for shared homes (HMOs), energy performance certificates, and fees you may or may not charge: this guide does not cover them. Ask your council or Rent Smart Wales.
• The repair rules in detail, and damp and mould: see the repairs, damp and mould guide for Wales.
• Immigration questions: UK Work Rights does not give immigration guidance.
• Tax on rental income: ask HMRC. Holiday lets and business lettings: not covered.
• Taking a contract-holder to court for money they owe you: see our small claims guide.
• The amount of any fine, penalty or fee.

What the rules depend on

1. Where is the home? Wales: this guide. England, Scotland or Northern Ireland: see that nation's guide.
2. Do you find tenants or manage the home yourself, or does a letting agent do it? This decides whether you need a Rent Smart Wales licence.
3. What kind of contract is it? A periodic standard contract (rolling), a fixed-term contract, or one that converted on 1 December 2022.
4. Does the occupier live in your own home and share rooms with you? Then they are a lodger and different rules apply.
5. What are you trying to do? Start a contract, carry out a check, raise the rent, or get the home back.

"Do I need to register or get a licence?"

• Under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, every landlord with a rented home in Wales must register with Rent Smart Wales, naming the landlord and the address of each rented home. A registration lasts 5 years.
• If you do letting or management work yourself, such as finding tenants, arranging viewings, preparing contracts, collecting rent or arranging repairs, you are "self-managing" and must also complete approved training and get a licence.
• If you do none of that work yourself, you do not need a licence, but you must use a licensed agent and declare the agent on your registration.

"What must I give the contract-holder?"

• A written statement of the occupation contract within 14 days of the occupation date, the date the contract-holder moves in.
• A landlord who has not given the written statement on time cannot give a section 173 notice.

"What safety checks do I need?"

• Smoke alarms: a working smoke alarm on every storey of the home. It must be connected to the mains electricity supply and linked to the other smoke alarms that have to be fitted.
• Carbon monoxide: a carbon monoxide alarm where there is a gas, oil or solid fuel burning appliance.
• Electrics: an electrical safety test at least every 5 years.
• If you do not do any of these three things, the home is treated as unfit for human habitation.
• Gas: every gas appliance and flue you provide must be checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Keep each record for 2 years. Give a copy to the contract-holder within 28 days of the check, or to a new contract-holder before they move in.

"What do I do with the deposit?"

• Protect the deposit in an approved scheme within 30 days of receiving it, and give the contract-holder the scheme details.
• A landlord who has not done this cannot give a valid section 173 notice.
• If you and the contract-holder disagree about deductions at the end of the contract, the scheme's free dispute service can decide.

"I want to raise the rent"

• On a periodic standard contract you can raise the rent with at least 2 months' notice, and not more than once a year after the first increase.
• If the contract converted on 1 December 2022 from a tenancy that existed before then, the contract-holder can ask the Rent Assessment Committee (Residential Property Tribunal Wales) to decide the rent. They must apply within 2 months of receiving the notice.

"I want my property back"

• A section 173 notice ends a periodic standard contract without a reason. It must give at least 6 months' notice. It cannot be given in the first 6 months after the contract-holder moved in, or during a fixed term.
• If the contract-holder asked for repairs, the court can refuse a claim based on a section 173 notice if it finds the notice was given to avoid doing the repairs.
• Serious rent arrears on a periodic standard contract (at least 2 months' rent if paid monthly, or 8 weeks' rent if paid weekly): give at least 14 days' notice before going to court. The court must make an order if the contract-holder was that far behind both when the notice was given and at the hearing.
• Other breaches of the contract: at least 1 month's notice before going to court. Antisocial behaviour: you can go to court straight after giving notice.
• A notice running out does not end the contract by itself. You must get a court order.
• Under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 it is a criminal offence to make an occupier leave without following the legal process, or to harass them to make them leave. This includes changing the locks, removing belongings, cutting off gas, electricity or water, and threats.
• A contract-holder can end a periodic contract by giving at least 4 weeks' notice.

"When can't I give a section 173 notice?"

You cannot give a section 173 notice at a time when any of these applies:

• You are not registered with Rent Smart Wales for the home. Or you need a licence, you do not have one, and you have not appointed a licensed agent to do all the letting and management work.
• You have not given the contract-holder the written statement. If you gave it late, you also cannot give a notice for 6 months from the day you gave it.
• You have not given the contract-holder a notice of an address for documents (due within 14 days of the start of the contract).
• You have not given the contract-holder a valid energy performance certificate.
• The deposit has not been protected in an approved scheme, or you have not given the scheme information, or you took security in a form the law does not allow and have not returned it. The deposit bar ends once the deposit is returned (in full or with agreed deductions) or the court application about it has been decided, withdrawn or settled.
• You took a payment the law does not allow, or a holding deposit, and have not repaid it.
• The home counts as unfit because working smoke alarms or carbon monoxide alarms are not installed, or because you have not obtained or given the electrical condition report, and you are required to put that right.
• You have not given the contract-holder a copy of a valid gas safety record, or displayed one in the home, as the gas rules require.

The same bars apply to a section 186 notice and to a landlord's break clause.

"I have a lodger"

• If your lodger lives in your home and shares rooms with you, you only have to give reasonable notice, or the notice in your agreement. You do not need a court order, but you must not use violence.

Deadlines

• Written statement: within 14 days of the occupation date.
• Deposit: protect it within 30 days of receiving it.
• Gas safety record: to the contract-holder within 28 days of the check; to a new contract-holder before they move in.
• Electrical safety test: at least every 5 years.
• Rent Smart Wales registration: renew every 5 years.
• Check the exact date a notice ends with an adviser.

Traps

• "Section 21" and "Section 8" are England words. Wales uses section 173 and breach notices.
• Most of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 applies to England and Wales. Chapter 4 of the Act deals with Wales and has been in force since 1 June 2026. It makes it an offence for a landlord or agent to discriminate against people with children or people who get benefits. Since 1 June 2026 every occupation contract also has two new fundamental terms. One is the right of under-18s to live in or visit the home (section 54A). The other covers benefits claimants (section 54B). Welsh contracts remain under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
• Registering with Rent Smart Wales is not the same as having a licence. Self-managing landlords need both.
• A missing written statement or an unprotected deposit stops you giving a valid section 173 notice.