Manage rented property in Wales

Make sure you manage your property (also known as 'dwellings') and contract holders effectively by using the correct documents. Check contract holders' backgrounds and obtain references whenever possible and consider requesting a deposit to ensure you rent to a reliable contract holder and protect your investment. For more information, read Picking a tenant.

Make sure you comply with your obligations as a landlord, by providing all relevant documents to contract holders (eg gas safety certificates and energy performance certificates). Consider if you want to ask the contract holder to pay a rent deposit at the start of the contract to cover cleaning, breakage and damage that may occur. Any deposit will need to be protected under a Government-approved tenancy deposit scheme. For more information, read Rent, deposits and utilities.

Make sure you use the right kind of document when letting a residential dwelling (eg a fixed-term standard contract or a lodger agreement). This will depend on the specifics of your situation. For more information, read Residential tenancies in Wales. 

Be aware, that under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, you must provide certain information to contract holders. These include:

• giving the contract holder a written statement of the standard terms within 14 days of them moving in
• providing an Inventory of the items in the dwelling (including their state and condition) within 14 days of the moving-in date

For more information, read Occupation contracts in Wales.

Not all contract holders will comply with their contract or obligations, like paying rent or repairing items. There are procedural steps to take in order to resolve these issues and possibly evict them in the event that they are no longer cooperating. It is crucial that you follow the correct process when asking difficult contract holders to leave. For more information, read Repossessing property in Wales.