Landlords – What You Need To Know
On 25 November 2015 we published an article confirming that the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 came into force on 23 November 2015, requiring all private Landlords to register as a private Landlord and, unless an Agent undertakes the letting and management of the property, to obtain a Licence to operate.
We now set out, in fuller detail, the requirements of Landlords in order to comply with the Housing (Wales) Act 2014.
Registering as a Landlord
This is a relatively straightforward process and can be done online on the Rent Smart Wales website. The cost is £33.50 and is not dependent upon the number of properties being registered. The price of registration does not increase if there is more than one property in respect of which you are the Landlord.
If the property is in joint ownership, one lead owner must register it on behalf of all of the other owners. Likewise, if the property is owned by a company, then the company must register as a Landlord.
If you do not wish to carry out the registration process online, you can request a paper Application instead. However, the cost of registering this way is £80.50.
When you register, you must include details of all rental properties in Wales in respect of which you are the Landlord.
The registration lasts for five years after which period, you will then have to re-register.
During that five year period, you must keep the register up to date. By law, you must notify Rent Smart Wales of any change of name/contact details, any changes in relation to someone starting or ceasing to undertake the letting or management at the rental property, and any change of interest (i.e. if you sell the property etc).
Further, if you acquire another property subject to, or marketed or offered for let under a domestic Tenancy, then you are obliged to add details of that property to your registration within 28 days.
Obtaining a licence
If you self-manage your properties, you must apply for a Licence in addition to registering as a Landlord. It may of course be that you have an Agent that deals with some or all aspects of the property management upon your behalf, i.e. finding Tenants or arranging repairs etc, but, if you carry out any of the following, you will need to obtain a Licence in your own name: –
- Arranging or attending property viewings with potential Tenants;
- Obtaining references, performing credit checks, interviewing prospective Tenants;
- Preparing the Tenancy Agreement;
- Preparing an inventory for the property or a Schedule of Condition of the property;
- Collecting rent payments;
- Being the first point of contact for the Tenants in relation to matters arising under the Tenancy;
- Making arrangements in relation to the performance of repairs or maintenance;
- Contacting the Tenants in order to secure access to the property for any purpose;
- Assessing or reviewing the content or condition of the property, or arranging for them to be checked;
- Serving Notice to terminate a Tenancy.
As above, if you perform any of those duties in respect of your rental property, then you need to apply for a Licence.
The Licence application must be submitted to Rent Smart Wales and must include evidence that you have completed suitable Landlord training. That training can be undertaken direct with Rent Smart Wales or by another training provider authorised by them.
The training involves attendance at a one-day course which covers the main aspects of renting out and managing private rented accommodation. It appears that if the course is undertaken via Rent Smart Wales the cost of the one-day course is around £100 and can be undertaken at a range of convenient locations and dates.
Rent Smart Wales are currently considering applications for authorisation from other training providers and have confirmed that their website will be updated with details of those alternative training providers in due course.
Once the training has been completed, the Landlord will then need to submit the application to Rent Smart Wales, and a further fee is payable upon submission of that Application. Once the Application has been assessed, unless there are exceptional circumstances, it appears that a Licence will then be issued. Again, the Licence last five years.
One condition of the Licence is to always adhere to the Code of Practice.
Code of practice
The Code of Practice is available online and sets out the requirements that Landlords must fulfil in order to comply with legislation. It is the Code of Practice for Landlords and Agents licensed under Part 1 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 and was published in October 2015. It includes such things as giving reasonable notice to a current Tenant if a new prospective Tenant is coming to view the property (at least 24 hours), obtaining a prospective Tenant’s consent before seeking a reference or carrying out a credit check, ensuring that the Tenancy Agreement contains appropriate information etc. It also contains requirements in relation to security deposits and the need for the same to be protected in a Government authorised scheme within 30 days.
The rules and regulations involved in becoming a Landlord are substantial and, in some cases, very complicated. We do hope that the information contained above is helpful in explaining the requirements under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 but should you have any concerns, or require any assistance in relation to the same, then please do not hesitate to contact our Janine Griffiths.