Standard occupation contract — the written statement for Welsh landlords

Standard vs secure occupation contracts

The 2016 Act creates two types of contract. Most private lets in Wales are standard contracts. Secure contracts are used mainly by community landlords (housing associations and councils).

• Standard contract. Default for private sector lets. Used for periodic lets and fixed terms. Includes the fundamental terms that cannot be varied and the supplementary terms that can.
• Secure contract. Used by community landlords. Different fundamental terms, longer possession procedures, stronger contract-holder rights.
• Fixed-term standard contract. Still available in Wales (unlike England under the RRA 2025). A Welsh landlord can grant a fixed-term standard contract, though most go periodic from day one.

The fundamental terms you cannot vary

Schedule 4 of the Act lists fundamental terms. They apply automatically to every standard contract. Omitting or contradicting them in the written statement does not work — the statute overrides.

• Anti-social behaviour and related conduct provisions
• Landlord's repair obligations (structure, exterior, service installations, fitness for human habitation)
• Variation of terms (only with written agreement or statutory procedure)
• Rent variation under section 123 — the Welsh equivalent of Section 13 — requires a rent-variation notice, two months' minimum, once per 12 months
• Landlord's break (section 173) — six months' minimum notice, cannot be served in first six months, only on periodic contracts
• Serious rent arrears possession under Schedule 8 ground 8 — eight weeks of unpaid rent
• Contract-holder's right to end the contract on four weeks' written notice

Supplementary terms and where you can customise

Supplementary terms are default terms that apply unless the parties agree different ones in writing. You can vary them — and many landlords do — but the variation must be in the written statement and signed.

• Rent payment method and due date
• Frequency and scope of landlord inspections
• Joint contract-holder signing and addition of new contract-holders
• Garden, decoration and minor alteration clauses
• Pet clauses (subject to the reasonableness test — a blanket pet ban is not enforceable)
• Sub-letting and lodgers (the statute sets minimum rights the parties cannot cut back)

Notices you will use across the life of the contract

Wales has its own set of notices, each with its own form and notice period.

• Section 173 landlord break. The no-fault possession route. Six months' minimum, cannot be served in the first six months of the occupation date, cannot be relied on beyond six months from the break date.
• Section 157 serious breach. Used where the contract-holder has seriously breached the contract. Notice period depends on the breach.
• Section 123 rent variation. The Welsh rent-increase notice. Two months' minimum, once per 12 months, open-market rent cap, tribunal referral available.
• Possession claim under Schedule 8. The Rent Smart Wales registration and licensing position must be current.

Rent Smart Wales and registration

Before letting in Wales, the landlord must register with Rent Smart Wales. If the landlord self-manages, they also need a licence (training plus fit-and-proper-person check). Using an unlicensed agent is a criminal offence.

Every occupation contract should reference the Rent Smart Wales registration number and (where self-managing) the licence number. The LetSafe template has the placeholder in the header.

Frequently asked questions