Information for landlords in Wales
Rights and responsibilities
You can find information about the rights and responsibilities of landlords on the GOV.UK website. The information includes:
Information about your legal responsibility to keep gas appliances in safe working order is available from the Health and Safety Executive's website at www.hse.gov.uk.
Information about electrical safety obligations is available from the Electrical Safety Council's website at www.esc.org.uk.
You can find information about how to become an accredited landlord on the Landlord Accreditation Wales website.
Go to www.welshlandlords.org.uk
Compulsory landlord registration and licensing
The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 requires all landlords with property in Wales to register with Rent Smart Wales and to either be licensed themselves if they're ‘self-managing’ or use a licensed agent.
If a landlord doesn’t register, is unlicensed, or uses an unlicensed agent, Rent Smart Wales could give them a fixed penalty fine. They could also lose their licence.
Self letting landlords or agents must also be licensed and follow a code of practice . Training for the code of practice is mandatory before approval of a licence.
Read more about landlord registration
Read more about landlord licensing
How much does a landlord licence cost?
Help to make a property fit to let
The Welsh Government scheme, Houses into Homes, can provide a loan to enable a property to be made fit to let. Applications are made through the local authority. More information about the scheme is available on the Welsh Government website at www.wales.gov.uk.
Landlords associations
A landlords association may also be able to help you, for example the National Residential Landlords Association.
Complaining about a lettings or property management agency
Agencies that let or manage private rented accommodation on behalf of a landlord must belong to a government approved redress scheme for dealing with complaints.
If you have a complaint which hasn't been resolved using the agency's own complaints procedure, you can complain to the scheme that the agency belongs to.
Property fraud
If you aren’t living in the property you rent out, it’s important to keep the Land Registry updated of your contact address. This helps to reduce the risk of property fraud. You can find out more on the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk.