All landlords in Wales! The date to implement the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 has changed.
Following my recent article concerning the sweeping changes to the property rental industry in Wales, you may have noticed my scepticism as to the proposed date for their implementation.
Finally, Rentsmart Wales have notified us that the changes will now be delayed until the 1st December 2022, citing a number of problems including Covid 19 and the war in Ukraine for the lack of detail being provided to landlords.
A couple of industry experts have added their views on the change in timescale:
Daryl McIntosh, Propertymark’s policy manager for the UK Devolved Nations, said: “This delay has come completely out of the blue.
“We understand that this is a huge piece of legislation that fundamentally changes the entire rented sector in Wales, but what is taking so long? Royal Assent was granted six years ago and the Welsh Government still hasn’t published all of the regulations.
“With hindsight the five-month delay probably shouldn’t come a surprise, and will give our member agents and their landlords, and the rest of the rented sector, some additional time to understand and implement the changes.
“We urge Ministers to get on with publishing the remaining regulations within their original timeframe of June and July to ensure there is sufficient lead-in time and to avoid any further delays and uncertainty.”
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “The NRLA had warned for some time that the Welsh Government’s timetable for implementation of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act was unrealistic and provided insufficient time for landlords to prepare. It is reassuring that landlords’ concerns have been heeded, albeit late in the day.
“We welcome the announcement that implementation will be postponed until 1 December 2022. This will give the Government time to consider the many issues raised by private and social landlords ahead of these major changes coming into force.”
Finally
The Welsh Government are keen to proceed with this new legislation, so even though there will be a delay “The changes are Coming!”. Even with this delay, I’m not convinced all of the information for managing properties will be available by the 1st December 2022 and this will make life more complicated. Any “Let Only” landlords who require advice or documentation for changing over to the new Occupational Contracts may wish to consider moving to a managed service or contact us for further information.