Rent Smart Wales was introduced last year and will become mandatory later on this year. Landlords should already be aware of what they need to do to comply, but the experts are concerned that the new Renting Homes (Wales) Bill that is currently making its way through the Welsh Assembly could have far-reaching effects on Welsh landlords.
Working with the Government
Because of the wording of the “Key Matters” document, private tenancy agreements may need to be rewritten. As a result of this and other issues, the Residential Landlords Association has been working with the Welsh Government to ensure that landlords’ views are taken into account.
They have also worked hard to make sure a retaliatory eviction clause within the legislation is not able to be used as a weapon against Welsh landlords. Indeed, the RLA has submitted over 60 amendments to the Welsh Government to help make the Renting Homes Bill more acceptable to landlords and letting agents.
Protecting Landlords
“Although we have protected landlords from many of the provisions that are being introduced in other parts of the country, for example Scotland where they have introduced Rent Controls and are doing away with Section 21 notices, we still have areas we are fighting on and our work is far from done”, the RLA say.
However, there has been a significant U-turn by the government on the six month moratorium on minimum fixed term tenancies, so the RLA still has a way to go.
