First-Time Landlord Wales: The Complete Checklist

Becoming a landlord in Wales means more paperwork than most people expect, because Wales runs its own tenancy law rather than England's. Before you can legally let a property here you need Rent Smart Wales registration, a valid EPC, gas and electrical safety checks, working alarms, and an HMO licence if your property qualifies as one. Miss one and you risk fines, an invalid notice, or a contract-holder (tenant) who knows the rules better than you do.

This checklist works through everything in order: before you let, finding a contract-holder, setting up the occupation contract, ongoing management, and ending the contract. Every legal point below is sourced to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 or Rent Smart Wales.

What do I need to do before I can legally let a property in Wales?

Rent Smart Wales registration (plus a licence if you self-manage), a valid EPC, gas and electrical safety checks, working alarms, a fit-for-habitation property, insurance, and, where relevant, an HMO licence. Each is covered below.

1. Register with Rent Smart Wales

Every landlord letting a property in Wales must register with Rent Smart Wales — there's no exemption for using an agent. Registration costs £60 online or £102 by post, valid 5 years (Rent Smart Wales Fee Policy, effective April 2025).

Do you also need a licence? Only if you're self-managing: collecting rent, arranging repairs, or dealing with contract-holders directly. A landlord licence costs £254 online or £327 by post, also valid 5 years. Use a Rent Smart Wales–licensed agent for all letting and management and their licence covers it, so you only need to register.

Route	What Rent Smart Wales requires	Cost, first 5 years (online)
Self-managing landlord	Registration + landlord licence	£314 (£60 + £254)
Using a Rent Smart Wales–licensed agent	Registration only (the agent's licence covers management)	£60

Paper applications cost more (£102 / £327). Figures per Rent Smart Wales's April 2025 fee policy; confirm on the live portal, as fees can change.

☐ Register at rentsmart.gov.wales (£60 online, 5 years)

☐ Get a landlord licence if you're self-managing (£254 online, 5 years)

2. Get an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

You need a valid EPC before marketing — the current legal minimum is Band E, in force since April 2020; F or G shouldn't be let. Band C by 1 October 2030 is confirmed government policy, but the regulations to make it law haven't been passed yet — don't let anyone tell you Band C is required today (Rent Smart Wales, accessed 10/07/2026).

An EPC lasts 10 years: book an assessor via our guide to getting an EPC in Wales, or check whether an exemption applies.

☐ Book an EPC assessment

☐ Confirm your rating is Band E or above

☐ Note the 2030 Band C direction of travel (not yet law)

3. Gas safety certificate

If the property has any gas appliance, you need an annual Gas Safety Certificate from a Gas Safe–registered engineer, in place before a contract-holder moves in and renewed every 12 months. A lapsed certificate can block you from serving a valid no-fault notice later.

☐ Book a Gas Safe engineer

☐ Keep the certificate on file

☐ Set an annual renewal reminder

4. Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

An EICR must be no more than 5 years old, and you must give the contract-holder a copy within 7 days of their occupation date — not 14, a common mix-up (Fitness for Human Habitation etc. (Wales) Regulations 2022, reg.6). Miss that deadline and the property is automatically treated as unfit for human habitation.

☐ Book a qualified electrician for the EICR

☐ Address any remedial work flagged

☐ Give the contract-holder a copy within 7 days of occupation

5. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

Every storey needs a mains-wired, interlinked smoke alarm, and every room with a gas, oil, or solid-fuel appliance needs a CO alarm (battery-powered is fine) — mandatory, not just good practice (SI 2022/6, reg.5). Test and record before each new occupation contract starts.

☐ Install mains-wired, interlinked smoke alarms on every storey

☐ Install CO alarms in every room with a fuel-burning appliance

☐ Test and document before move-in

6. Fitness for human habitation

Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act, your property must be fit for human habitation throughout the contract. If you're unsure what that covers, read the fitness for human habitation requirements before you let.

☐ Check the property against fitness standards

☐ Address any issues before letting

7. Insurance

Standard home insurance doesn't cover a let property. You need landlord buildings insurance, plus contents cover if furnished. Self-managing under a Rent Smart Wales landlord licence also means a minimum £1 million public liability cover is one of your licence conditions.

☐ Get landlord buildings insurance

☐ Consider contents insurance (if furnished)

☐ Check public liability cover meets £1m if self-managing

8. Inform your mortgage lender

If you have a residential mortgage, you need "consent to let" before renting: some lenders require a buy-to-let mortgage instead. Letting without consent can breach your mortgage terms.

☐ Contact your mortgage lender for consent to let

☐ Switch to a buy-to-let mortgage if required

9. Tell HMRC

Rental income is taxable: register for Self Assessment if you haven't already, and keep records of income and allowable expenses for your return.

☐ Register for Self Assessment (if not already registered)

☐ Set up a record-keeping system for income and expenses

10. Check whether your property is an HMO

If you're letting to 5 or more people forming 2 or more separate households, in a building of 3 or more storeys, you need a mandatory HMO licence on top of Rent Smart Wales registration, with all three conditions applying together (Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (Wales) Order 2006). Some councils also licence smaller HMOs below that threshold (Cardiff does in Cathays and Plasnewydd, for example), so check with your local authority before you let.

☐ Check the 3-storey / 5-person / 2-household test

☐ Check your council for additional or selective licensing

11. Holding deposit — if you take one

A holding deposit can't exceed 1 week's rent; anything above that is unlawful (Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019, Sch.1). Give specified information in writing first, then you have 15 days to reach agreement; after that, repay it within 7 days unless there's a lawful reason to keep it. See our holding deposit guide for the full process.

☐ Cap any holding deposit at 1 week's rent

☐ Give the specified information in writing first

How do I find a good contract-holder in Wales?

Price the property on real comparable evidence, present it well, and reference every applicant properly: poor referencing is the single biggest cause of problem tenancies later on.

12. Set the right rent

Research comparables on Rightmove and Zoopla, or get a professional rental valuation to price it right first time.

☐ Research local rental prices

☐ Get a professional valuation (optional)

☐ Set a competitive rent

13. Prepare the property

Clean thoroughly, fix minor issues, and get professional photos, which noticeably increase enquiry rates.

☐ Deep clean throughout

☐ Fix minor maintenance issues

☐ Declutter and stage for photos

☐ Consider professional photography

14. Market the property

List on Rightmove, Zoopla, and other portals with a clear description — or let your tenant find agent handle it for you.

☐ Create a listing with quality photos

☐ List on major property portals

☐ Respond to enquiries promptly

15. Reference thoroughly

Check credit history, employment, previous landlord references, identity, and Right to Rent status; a professional referencing service cuts the risk significantly.

☐ Credit check

☐ Employment verification

☐ Previous landlord reference

☐ Identity check

☐ Right to Rent check

What has to happen when the occupation contract starts?

16. Prepare the occupation contract

Tenancies in Wales are now "occupation contracts" under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act — a different legal instrument from an English assured shorthold tenancy. Give the contract-holder a written statement within 14 days of their occupation date. The contract has fundamental terms (fixed by law) and supplementary terms (some of which you can modify).

☐ Prepare a compliant occupation contract

☐ Include all required prescribed information

☐ Review supplementary terms

17. Protect the deposit

Protect any deposit in an authorised scheme (DPS, mydeposits, or TDS) within 30 days, with prescribed information given in the same window (Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, s.45 and Sch.5). Unlike England, Wales has no statutory cap on deposit size: the English 5-week limit doesn't apply here. Get this wrong and a court must order 1–3 times the deposit repaid. See our deposit protection guide.

☐ Collect a deposit (no statutory cap in Wales)

☐ Protect it within 30 days

☐ Give prescribed information to the contract-holder

18. Create an inventory

Photograph every room, note condition and any damage, and have the contract-holder sign it: this is your evidence at the end of the contract.

☐ Photograph every room

☐ Document condition in writing

☐ Note meter readings

☐ Get the contract-holder's signature

19. Hand over keys

Hand over keys, demonstrate the boiler, alarms, and meters, and give copies of the EPC, gas certificate, occupation contract, and deposit information.

☐ Hand over all keys

☐ Demonstrate appliances and systems

☐ Provide emergency contacts

☐ Give copies of all required documents

What ongoing compliance do I need to manage as a landlord?

20. Collect rent

Set up rent collection by standing order and act quickly if rent runs late — our arrears guide explains the process.

☐ Set up a standing order or payment method

☐ Keep records of all payments

☐ Have an arrears process ready

21. Handle maintenance

Respond to maintenance requests promptly: you're legally required to keep the property in repair throughout the contract.

☐ Find a reliable plumber, electrician, and handyperson

☐ Set up a system for receiving repair requests

☐ Keep records of all work done

22. Conduct inspections

Inspect every 3–6 months, giving proper written notice, and document what you find.

☐ Schedule regular inspections

☐ Give proper written notice

☐ Document findings with photos

23. Stay compliant

Track every deadline: annual gas safety renewal, EICR every 5 years, EPC every 10 years, and Rent Smart Wales registration or licence every 5 years. Our landlord compliance hub covers each requirement in one place.

☐ Track gas safety certificate expiry

☐ Track EICR expiry

☐ Track Rent Smart Wales registration/licence expiry

☐ Track EPC expiry

How do I end an occupation contract or deal with rent arrears in Wales?

24. Serve proper notice (if needed)

To end a contract without fault, serve a section 173 notice giving at least 6 months — section 174 sets that minimum length, it isn't a separate notice in its own right. Where the contract-holder is at fault — serious rent arrears, damage, or antisocial behaviour — you rely on the relevant ground instead: for serious arrears that's section 181 (periodic contracts) or section 187 (fixed-term), served via a possession notice under section 182 or section 188 respectively, both using Form RHW20. "Seriously in arrears" on a monthly rent means at least 2 months' unpaid rent — a time/proportion test, never a fixed cash figure. See our arrears guide for the full process.

☐ Identify the correct ground and notice section

☐ Use the correct form (RHW20 for arrears, RHW16 for no-fault)

☐ Serve correctly, in writing, with evidence of service

25. Check out properly

Compare against the original inventory, photograph any damage beyond fair wear and tear, and record final meter readings.

☐ Compare against the original inventory

☐ Document any damage

☐ Take final meter readings

☐ Collect all keys

26. Return the deposit

Agree any deductions, return the deposit promptly through your protection scheme's process, or raise a dispute through the scheme if you can't agree.

☐ Agree deductions, if any

☐ Return the deposit promptly

☐ Keep records of any dispute

Frequently asked questions for first-time landlords in Wales

Do I need a Rent Smart Wales licence if I use a letting agent?

No. If a licensed agent handles all your letting and management activity, you only need to register, from £60 online. The licence obligation, and the compliance risk that goes with it, sits with the agent.

Is there a cap on how much deposit I can take in Wales?

Not on the security deposit — Wales has never set a limit, unlike England's 5-week cap. The holding deposit taken before the contract starts is capped separately, at 1 week's rent — don't confuse the two.

Do I need an HMO licence?

Only if the property has 3 or more storeys, 5 or more occupants, and 2 or more separate households, all three together. Some councils licence smaller HMOs too, so check with yours directly.

Can I say no to a contract-holder's pet?

Yes. Wales doesn't give contract-holders a statutory right to keep pets: a "no pets" contract is lawful. If your contract does include a pets clause, refusal under it has to be reasonable, but only because the clause exists, not because the law imposes it by default.

What counts as "seriously in arrears" in Wales?

For a monthly rent, at least 2 months' unpaid rent (the test scales differently for weekly, fortnightly, quarterly, and annual rents). It's always a time-and-proportion test: there's no cash-amount threshold in the Act.

Is EPC Band C required now?

No. Band E is still the current legal minimum. Band C by 1 October 2030 is confirmed government policy, but the regulations that would make it law haven't been passed yet.

Consider professional help

This is a lot to manage, especially the first time. Many new landlords start by handling everything themselves, then realise how much time and personal liability is involved.

Options include tenant find only (we find the contract-holder, you manage), rent collection (we handle the money, you handle maintenance), or full management (we handle everything, you receive the income).

For every step above sourced and explained in one place, see The Landlord's Guide to Renting in Wales.

If you'd like to talk through your options, get a quote or call us on 01792 651311.