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A better way to rent a home in Wales

The Welsh Government is introducing a Bill to streamline and simplify the law for renting a home in Wales. If you are a tenant or landlord, these changes are designed to make it much easier to understand your rights and responsibilities. This should reduce landlord and tenant disputes and make renting a home a better choice for all.

As well as simplifying the underpinning law, the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill will enable the Welsh Government to introduce two model rental agreements. One will be a ‘secure contract’, based on the local authority secure tenancy, which will be used mainly for long term housing by councils and housing associations. The second ‘standard contract’ will be modelled on the current assured shorthold tenancy which will be used for all types of shorter term renting in both the private and public sectors. There will also be special provisions applying to supported housing. Taken together, these contracts will replace at least six statutory forms of tenancy that currently exist and many more besides. The new contracts will be written in plain English covering all relevant law, ensuring equality and flexibility across the rented housing sector.

The Welsh Government has already been working closely with a wide range of housing organisations, including those representing tenants and landlords, to develop its proposals. They will be based on the ‘Renting Homes’ report published in 2006 by the Law Commission, which were well-received but couldn’t be implemented in Wales without the greater powers secured in the 2011 devolution referendum . Over the next couple of years there will be many opportunities for landlords and tenants to get involved and help them to prepare for the change.

Commenting on the proposals, Huw Lewis AM, Minister for Housing, Regeneration and Heritage said ‘This Bill will provide a legal framework for renting a home that is fair, simple and efficient. It will help both tenants and landlords and enable the housing system as a whole to work more effectively’.

Introduction of the bill will be following the Housing Bill allowing sufficient timescales to enable a detailed review and update of the Law Commission’s Renting Homes work whilst ensuring we conduct full stakeholder engagement with Tenants and Landlords.

Further information can be found via the following link
http://new.wales.gov.uk


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