CPS Homes

SUCCESS: Welsh Gov amend legislation following CPS Homes campaign

Landlords may recall that, back in August 2023, CPS Homes lobbied Welsh Government to make much-needed changes to their legislation so that there was absolute clarity on when a landlord may give contract-holders a Written Statement of the occupation contract.

We’re delighted to confirm that Welsh Gov have now made the required amendments to The Renting Homes (Explanatory Information for Written Statements of Occupation Contracts) (Wales) Regulations 2022, making it abundantly clear that the Written Statement can be given at any time prior to the occupation date.

It means that contract-holders wanting to get out of their contract early can no longer claim that they were given the Written Statement too soon, which in their eyes had invalidated the contract. We had always stood firm and said it can be issued at any time before occupation, as per The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, so it’s pleasing to have the supplementary Regulations updated to be aligned with the Act, making it crystal clear.

What the Regulations looked like before

A written statement of an occupation contract must contain explanatory information about the following matters—

(f)that the written statement of the occupation contract must be given to the contract-holder within—

(i)14 days of the occupation date;

What it looks like now

A written statement of an occupation contract must contain explanatory information about the following matters—

(f)that the written statement of the occupation contract —

(i) may be given to the contract-holder before the occupation date and, if it is not, must be given to the contract-holder within 14 days of the occupation date;

Welsh Government have updated their model Written Statements to reflect the change, so landlords who rely on these models should use the updated version. Equally, if you use an agent to draft your contract, it’s worth checking with them that they’re using the correct version, as the change has not been well-publicised. As always, we have our clients fully covered in this regard.

That said, we have long-since advised landlords against using Welsh Gov’s model Written Statements. Read the 10 reasons why.

26 January 2024

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