The rules about renting a home in Wales changed on 1 December 2022; Welsh Government introduced a new housing act. The Renting Homes (Wales) Act is the biggest change to housing law in decades and aims to make renting a home simpler and give tenants greater protection.

Latest information: April 2023

The information in this section only applies to customers who started their tenancy before 1 December 2022 and does not apply to leaseholders.

As part of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, we need to provide all our contract holders (previously called tenants) with a copy of their converted occupation contract. These are based on and replace the original tenancy agreement that you signed when you moved into your current home.

The new contracts will include terms that Welsh Government has set out in the Renting Homes model written statements. As a result, these new occupation contracts are quite long documents and we are legally required to send joint contract holders a separate copy of the contract.

All you need to do is read your contract, sign it where indicated, then keep it in a safe place so that you can refer to it in the future if you need to.

You should receive your occupation contract by 31 May 2023. If you haven’t received your contact by this date, you have a query or you have noticed a mistake in your contract please email RentingHomesAct@hafod.org.uk or call 0800 024 8968.

Alternatively, you can speak to your neighbourhood housing or income coach, support worker or scheme manager who will be happy to help.

About the changes

What does this mean for me?
On 1 December 2022, your current tenancy agreement converted to a new occupation contract which makes your rights and responsibilities clearer.

The new law makes renting easier and provide greater security, such as:

• Improved succession rights (these set out who has a right to continue to live in a dwelling, for example after the current tenant dies)
• More flexible arrangements for joint contract-holders, making it easier to add or remove others to an occupation contract
• Greater protection from eviction

As your landlord, the law means that we have to ensure your home is fit to live in and we will need to give you two months notice of any future rent increases.

We have until 1 June 2023 to give you a written copy of your new contract.