The letter from Julie James AM, the Minister for Housing and Local Government, says that, “Under the Government of Wales Act 2006, the Bill is now proceeding through a period of legal consideration for four weeks before receiving Royal Assent, which means that the Bill becomes an Act. After that, I anticipate that Royal Assent will be received in May.”
The Minister then adds, “During the passage of the Bill, I was clear that I wished to see this important legislation in force as soon as possible. I do, however, understand that landlords and agents need time to adjust their business models in order to comply with the change. My intention, therefore, provided the Bill receives Royal Assent, is to commence the ban on fees on 1 September 2019.”
The Renting Homes (Wales) (Fees etc.) Bill passed Stage 4 of the Assembly’s legislative process on 27 March 2019. The legislation will ban certain payments unless they are allowed under Schedule 1 to the Bill: i.e. rent, a security deposit, a refundable holding deposit (set at a maximum of one week’s rent), “default” payments, and payments for services such as utilities and council tax. All other payments are “prohibited payments”, and therefore banned.
The tenant fees ban is now an inevitability in Wales, and agents need to start preparing for a post-tenant fees world. The Bill will receive Royal Assent in the coming few weeks, before being passed into law and implemented on 1st September 2019. Over the coming weeks and months, ARLA Propertymark will be launching a Welsh specific Tenant Fees Toolkit, as well as arranging a webinar on the ban and a roadshow for Welsh agents later in the summer, so they fully understand the law before it comes into force.
