Tenant Fees ban Wales, in force from September 1st

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Tenant Fees:

A tenants’ fees ban was introduced in England on 1st June
2019 for new residential tenancies. The one to be introduced in Wales will come
into force on September 1 2019, if it receives Royal Assent. It will be similar
to the English fees ban, but it has some important differences.

The new Welsh legislation will make it illegal for letting
agents and landlords to charge anything other than permitted payments, including
rent, security deposits, holding deposits, utilities, council tax, green deal
charges, payment in default (when a tenant breaches a contract), and payments
in respect of council tax, utilities, a television licence, or communication
services.

It also means that tenants cannot be charged for such things
as an accompanied viewing, receiving an inventory, signing a contract, or
renewing a tenancy.

The Welsh Government says that the new law will save tenants
almost £200 per tenancy, but others in the industry disagree, arguing that in
the longer term the charges will simply be replaced with higher rents.

The new law caps holding deposits paid to reserve a property
before the signing of a rental contract to the equivalent of a week’s rent and
creates provisions to ensure their prompt repayment. It will also give the
Welsh Government the power, should it wish to use it in the future, to limit
the level of security deposits.

Deputy Housing Minister and Local Government Minister Hannah
Blythyn said:

“We understand that landlords and agents need time to make
adjustments to their business models and practices in order to comply with the
change. However, we have been clear that we want to see this important
legislation come into force as soon as possible, in particular before students
start their autumn term at Welsh universities.

“Providing the law receives royal assent, it will come into
force on September 1 this year. We have already written to interested
organisations to inform them of this, and we are keen that tenants in Wales are
aware of their rights under the Act.�

Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Tenant Fees ban Wales, in force from September 1st | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Tenant Fees ban Wales, in force from September 1st

If you enjoyed this article please consider sharing it!