Model Contracts
Throughout 2015 the Welsh Government has been consulting and working on a piece of legislation designed to make the process of renting a home simpler and easier to understand. As a part of this process, the Welsh Government wanted to reduce the number of contracts that could be issued to establish a tenancy. What they came up with was a Model Contract that landlords must use when establishing a new tenancy.
The legislation which allows for the Model Contract is the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill, which is currently going through the Welsh Assembly. You may recognise terms from our blog posts such as RHB (Renting Homes Bill) and Model contract, however this piece of legislation (the RHB) allows for much more than just the Model Contract.
If you carry on using your own contracts and ignoring the Model Contract, or if you don’t issue a contract at all, your contract will be void and the Welsh Government will impose their own ‘Default contract’. This means that the only thing you would be allowed to set is the rent level. After that, if you don’t comply with the requirements, the Welsh Government will set out everything for you.
The Model Contract will, basically, consist of three terms:
If you are a landlord who does not want to go through this onerous process then why not let YOUR AGENT be your agent? And let us take the hassle out of managing your property.
The legislation which allows for the Model Contract is the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill, which is currently going through the Welsh Assembly. You may recognise terms from our blog posts such as RHB (Renting Homes Bill) and Model contract, however this piece of legislation (the RHB) allows for much more than just the Model Contract.
What does this mean for Landlords?
Every private sector landlord who rents a residential property in Wales must use the Model contract. It means that when you are setting up a new tenancy, the contract must have certain clauses and conditions set by the Welsh government. You are free to include your own, but they must not clash with or seek to alter any of the Welsh Government fundamental or prescribed terms.If you carry on using your own contracts and ignoring the Model Contract, or if you don’t issue a contract at all, your contract will be void and the Welsh Government will impose their own ‘Default contract’. This means that the only thing you would be allowed to set is the rent level. After that, if you don’t comply with the requirements, the Welsh Government will set out everything for you.
What will I have to do?
When the RHB passes through the Assembly and the Model Contracts come into force, you will have to ensure that any contract you use is fully compliant.The Model Contract will, basically, consist of three terms:
- Fundamental
These terms cannot be changed and must be included within the contract - Prescribed
These are a set of terms written by the Welsh government, however you and your tenant must decide whether or not to include them within the contract. If you do include them within the contract, you must only modify them to benefit the tenant. Our advice is that if you are going to include them, don’t modify them. - Additional
Here you can include any additional terms you see fit. It comes with a word of warning though, you cannot include terms that impact on any of the Prescribed or Fundamental terms.
Where can I find out more?
At present the RHB is currently at Stage 2 in the Welsh Assembly (4 stages until something is passed) and isn’t expected to pass until later in 2016. Subscribe to ur blog to keep up to date with developments.If you are a landlord who does not want to go through this onerous process then why not let YOUR AGENT be your agent? And let us take the hassle out of managing your property.
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