Cardiff landlord ordered to repay 12 months' rent - a vital reminder that you (or your agent) must be licensed

A recent ruling by the Residential Property Tribunal serves as a timely reminder that landlords in Wales must make sure they, or their appointed manager, are properly licensed under Rent Smart Wales.

Last month (October 2025), a landlord of a property on Newfoundland Road in Cardiff was ordered to repay 12 months’ rent (£4,800) to their tenant after Rent Smart Wales first prosecuted the landlord for being unlicensed, then alerted the tenant to the fact they could apply for a Rent Repayment Order.

It’s a stark reminder of how serious the consequences can be for landlords who aren’t properly licensed.

Here’s what this decision really highlights:

If you self-manage your property, you must hold a valid Rent Smart Wales landlord licence.
The only way around that is to appoint a licensed agent to manage the property for you. An agent is not just a commercial entity. It’s a friend, partner, relative – basically, anyone who isn’t the landlord. Find out more.
And crucially, if you appoint an unlicensed agent, you could also face conviction and a Rent Repayment Order – just like this landlord did.

We’ve included the timeline of key events below so you can see how this case unfolded:

13/06/2024: In Cardiff Magistrates Court, the landlord is convicted of being the landlord of a rented property and carrying out property management activity without having a Rent Smart Wales licence.

A few days later: Rent Smart Wales writes to the occupier(s) of the property, informing them of the landlord’s conviction and advising that, under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, they are entitled to apply to the Residential Property Tribunal to claim back rent for a period of up to 12 months.

15/05/2025: A tenant applies to the Residential Property Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order of 12 months’ rent. The tribunal can only consider the rental payments for the 12 months prior to the date of the application, so from 16/05/2024 to 15/05/2025. Bank statements provided by the tenant show that 12 payments of £400 were made between these dates, totalling £4,800.

10/10/2025: The Tribunal makes a Rent Repayment Order, ordering the landlord to pay the tenant (by now a former tenant, as they’d vacated in June 2025) the sum of £4,800 within 14 days.

This is a clear reminder that compliance isn’t optional. As a Rent Smart Wales licensed agent, we make sure our landlords stay fully compliant and protected from fines, legal action, and the kind of costly penalties seen here.

If you’d like to check your own license status, or confirm that your current agent is properly licensed, you can do that through Rent Smart Wales’ online register.

You can also read the full Tribunal decision notes.

If you’re not 100% sure whether your current arrangements meet the legal requirements – or if you’d just like some advice on staying compliant – we’re here to help. Drop an email to lettings@cpshomes.co.uk or call 02920 668585.

17 November 2025

The information contained within this article was correct at the date of publishing and is not guaranteed to remain correct in the present day.

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