Tenants’ Fee Ban implemented in Wales

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Tenants’ Fee Ban:

Following on from the tenants’ fee ban which came into force
in England 1^st June 2019, a similar fee ban came into force in Wales
on the 1st September 2019. It applies to the new assured shorthold tenancies in
Wales.

The Welsh Government has published a detailed guide – Renting Homes (Fees Etc.) (Wales) Act 2019: Guidance for landlords and agents – though it points out that the publication is for guidance only and is not a definitive statement of the law.

However, Robin Stewart of Anthony Gold solicitors points out
that the guidance contains some serious errors and omissions, in particular whether
statutory periodic tenancies arising at the end of a fixed term after August
2019 would come within the scope of the Welsh fee ban. This issue and others require
further urgent clarification.

In Wales the fee ban applies to new assured shorthold
tenancies only, not licenses as is the case in England. The new rules will
apply to tenancies granted from 1 September 2019 and to holding deposits taken
from that date.

Excluded or “permitted payments� set-out in Schedule 1 of
the Renting Homes (Fees Etc.) (Wales) Act
2019:

1. Rent
2. Security
   deposit
3. Holding
   deposit
4. Payments
   in default
5. Payments
   in respect of council tax
6. Payments
   in respect of utilities
7. Payments
   in respect of a television licence
8. Payments
   in respect of communication services.

There appears to be some confusion over what landlords can
or cannot charge with respect to tenancy amendments and changes of sharers in
joint tenancies.

Mr Stewart thinks that the, “…confusion [cause by errors in
the guidance] is only going to result in difficulty for landlords, tenants and
agents to keep track of their legal rights and obligations during what is
already a time of significant legal upheaval for the Welsh private rented
sector.�

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