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Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Rent Smart Wales scheme announced

A new compulsory licensing and registration scheme for landlords is to be launched in Wales this autumn.

The Welsh Assembly's Housing Minister Lesley Griffiths presented the 'Rent Smart Wales' scheme on Tuesday.
The scheme, starting this Autumn, introduces compulsory licensing and registration for all private residential landlords. ( oh joy, more landlord kicking )

Landlords will need to prove they are a 'fit and proper' person and to undergo training to obtain the mandatory landlord licence.
At the presentation Lesley Griffiths announced: 

“We know approximately 184,000 homes in Wales – around one in seven – are now privately rented. With so many people renting, a strong sector with good working practices is absolutely essential.

“The new legislation we are introducing will not only improve the situation for tenants – informing them of their rights and responsibilities – it will also help good landlords by improving the sector’s reputation.

“When Rent Smart Wales is introduced this autumn, it will provide a simple way for landlords to register and for them and their agents to become licensed. Ahead of the changes, I encourage landlords and agents to subscribe to register their interest and to receive useful news and updates.”


Here's all you need to know about the Rent Smart Wales scheme, straight from the horses mouth.

As for Property Hawk's views on the scheme, no,actually ... what's the point.

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5 comments:

Mandy Thomson said...

Provided this scheme is fair, and fairly applied and practised, as a landlord I believe it's a really good thing.

We do have too many landlords who simply let out property without having a clue about the law and their responsibilities - they are running a business and taking real money from their tenants. Unfortunately, there are also a lot letting agents around too who are also unaware of legal requirements.

This is much fairer than the current system in England of landlord licensing which doesn't deliver training, imposes high costs and often unreasonable restrictions on landlords, and is simply a stealth tax imposed by local authorities who don't like private landlords.

Anonymous said...

I suppose, like everything else, this scheme will start at a price, which increases yearly until the private rental scheme becomes uneconomical. I also suppose the training courses will cost a fortune as well, with the insistence that duel owned homes means both partners will also have to attend. It all depends upon whether HMRC will make this scheme and the training tax deductible, otherwise I can see Welsh home rental costs increasing.

Anonymous said...

More legislation on Landlords. How about bringing in a law that individual in an Estate Agents are licenced to sell a property and not just the Estate Agent company which is licenced. A practice done in the U.S. and Australia. Let's face it there is more money at stake for some idiot to sell you the wrong property than some mistake with a Landlord/Tenant let. Stop hassling Landlords.

Anonymous said...

Manchester City Council brought in compulsory Landlord registration a couple of years ago. Cost was £400, and as part of the scheme DHSS tenants were to be empowered by receiving the rent, in order to pay over to the landlord themselves. I talked at the time with a Council rep who 'off record' agreed with me that this could be a disaster, as I can just remember the 50's and 60's when this was the norm. I asked my Agent what had happened to the scheme, as she had to be licensed by the Council as a fit and proper person. She replied that she had heard nothing, and was still receiving the DHSS rent direct. Perhaps common sense prevailed?

Anonymous said...

Do anyone know whether or not this will apply to holiday rents?