Problems With Your Tenants in Wales? Here's What the Law Actually Lets You Do

Four different problems, four different routes

The right route depends on what's actually wrong. Serious rent arrears is the one mandatory ground — get the timing right and the court has to grant possession. Anti-social behaviour or a breach of the contract runs through a separate ground. An abandoned property has its own no-court process. And ending a contract for no stated reason at all is slow, and easily blocked. None of this runs through a Section 21 or Section 8 notice: since 1 December 2022, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 replaced assured shorthold tenancies with occupation contracts, and tenants with contract-holders.

Here's the correct route for each type of problem:

The problem	Ground	Notice / form	Minimum notice	Mandatory or discretionary?
Serious rent arrears, periodic contract	s.181	s.182 notice, Form RHW20	14 days to 6 months after notice	Mandatory, if arrears are still serious at the hearing
Serious rent arrears, fixed-term contract	s.187	s.188 notice, Form RHW20	14 days to 6 months after notice	Mandatory, if arrears are still serious at the hearing
Anti-social behaviour		Form RHW23
Other breach of contract		Form RHW23
Genuinely abandoned property		Form RHW27, then RHW28
No specific reason (clean break)	s.173 / s.174	Form RHW16	6 months, can't start until the contract is 6 months old	Available, but slow and blocked by any outstanding compliance issue

(Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, ss.173–174, 181–182, 187–188; Forms RHW16, RHW20, RHW23, RHW27, RHW28 — gov.wales/renting-homes-forms-landlords, accessed 10/07/2026)

Can I evict a contract-holder for rent arrears in Wales?

Yes — arrears is the one ground where, if the notice is right and the arrears are still serious at the court hearing, the court must order possession. "Seriously in arrears" is defined only in rent periods, never in cash: 2 months' unpaid rent on the standard monthly contract, 8 weeks on a weekly/fortnightly/4-weekly contract, more than 3 months in arrears on a quarterly contract. There is no fixed pound figure anywhere in the Act — ignore any "£X owed" rule of thumb you've seen elsewhere.

The ground is s.181 for a periodic contract or s.187 for a fixed-term one; the notice that has to follow is served under s.182 or s.188, and both use the same form, Form RHW20. A possession claim can't be made within 14 days of serving the notice, or more than 6 months after it. If it reaches a hearing, the judge must order possession provided the arrears were serious both when the notice was served and on the hearing date — so a contract-holder who clears the arrears before the hearing defeats the claim. (Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, ss.181, 182, 187, 188; Form RHW20, gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2022-09/form-RHW20.pdf, accessed 10/07/2026)

For the step-by-step process — first contact, documentation, the formal arrears letter, then the notice itself — see our full rent arrears guide.

What about anti-social behaviour or a breach of the contract that isn't about money?

This runs through a different ground from arrears, served on Form RHW23 — covering anti-social behaviour and other breaches of the contract, such as damage to the property or breaking a term set out in your written statement.

One example worth flagging: Wales gives contract-holders no automatic right to keep a pet. If your written statement includes a "no pets" term and it's broken, that's a genuine breach you can act on under the breach route (Form RHW23). If there's no such clause in the contract, there's no breach to act on either way — see our guide to pets in rented properties. (Renting Homes (Model Written Statements of Contract) (Wales) Regulations 2022; gov.wales/renting-homes-frequently-asked-questions-tenants, accessed 10/07/2026)

What if my contract-holder abandons the property?

Wales is one of the few places you can end a contract without going to court at all — but only by following an exact two-step process, and only where the property has genuinely been abandoned. Skip a step, or act on a hunch, and you're exposed to an illegal-eviction claim.

Step one is a written warning notice — Form RHW27 — giving the contract-holder a chance to confirm they haven't abandoned the property, alongside your own reasonable enquiries. If there's no response, step two is Form RHW28. Keep every piece of evidence you gather along the way. (Forms RHW27/RHW28 — gov.wales/renting-homes-forms-landlords, accessed 10/07/2026)

Don't let yourself into a property you merely suspect has been abandoned outside this process. Entering or changing the locks without a lawful basis exposes you to an illegal-eviction claim.

What if they simply won't leave once a valid notice has expired?

You apply to the county court for a possession order — you cannot re-enter, change the locks, or remove belongings yourself. Outside the abandonment route above, doing so without a court order exposes you to an illegal-eviction claim.

Our eviction process guide covers what happens once a claim reaches court.

Is there a way to end the contract without giving any reason at all?

Yes — a section 173 notice on Form RHW16 — but it's rarely the right tool for an active problem. It needs 6 months' notice, can't be served in the contract's first 6 months, and is blocked outright by any outstanding compliance failure: a missing written statement, an expired EICR, an unprotected deposit, or unregistered Rent Smart Wales status. Section 174 isn't a second notice in its own right — it's the rule that sets the section 173 notice's minimum 6-month length. (Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, ss.173, 174)

See our full guide to serving a section 173 notice for the complete restriction checklist.

Frequently asked questions

Is the rent-arrears notice called a "section 181 notice"?

No — that's a common mix-up. Section 181 (or s.187 for a fixed-term contract) is the ground that gives you the right to seek possession; the notice itself is served under section 182 (or s.188), on Form RHW20. "A section 182 notice" or "a section 188 notice" is the correct name. (Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, ss.181–182, 187–188)

Does a fixed-term contract change which notice I use for arrears?

Yes, slightly. The ground is s.187 rather than s.181, and the notice is served under s.188 rather than s.182 — but it's the same form, RHW20, and the same arrears test and timing windows apply either way.

Can I act on anti-social behaviour faster than rent arrears?

It's a different ground from rent arrears, served on Form RHW23, but we can't confirm here whether its minimum notice period is actually faster.

Can I evict a contract-holder just for keeping a pet?

Only if your contract actually says "no pets" and that term has been broken — that's a breach of contract you can act on under the breach route (Form RHW23). Wales gives contract-holders no automatic statutory right to keep a pet, but it also doesn't ban pets by default: without a pets clause in the contract, there's no breach to act on either way. (Renting Homes (Model Written Statements of Contract) (Wales) Regulations 2022)

Do I need a solicitor to deal with a problem contract-holder?

Not always, but a wrongly-timed or wrongly-worded notice is one of the most common reasons a possession claim fails outright. If you're not certain which ground applies, or whether an outstanding compliance issue blocks your notice, get it checked before you serve it.

If you'd rather we handled it

Dealing with a live arrears, anti-social behaviour, breach or abandonment situation while self-managing? Get in touch before you serve anything.

For every property we're instructed on, we choose the right ground, use the correct form, and check the restriction bars before anything is served, so a notice doesn't fail on a technicality. Further reading: our Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 guide and the full Welsh landlord compliance hub.