Most of the Act does not apply in Wales at all. Two things do: a ban on refusing applicants because they have children or receive benefits, and a deadline for updating every occupation contract to say so.
There has been a good deal of confusion about what the Renters' Rights Act 2025 means for landlords in Wales. The answer is: much less than the headlines suggest. The Act is overwhelmingly about England. For Welsh occupation contracts it makes one targeted change, to prevent discrimination against families and people receiving benefits, and that change came with one piece of paperwork.
The anti-discrimination rule
From 1 June 2026 it has been unlawful for a landlord, or anyone acting for a landlord, to discriminate against a prospective or existing contract-holder because they have children or because they receive benefits. In practical terms, a landlord or agent must not refuse, discourage or obstruct a person from enquiring about or viewing a property, from getting information about its availability, from entering into an occupation contract, from receiving benefits during the contract, or from having a child live at or visit the home.
The target is the blanket exclusion: "no DSS", "no benefits", "working tenants only", "no children". What the rule does not do is force a landlord to accept every applicant. Affordability, references, suitability, overcrowding and whether the property fits the household can all still be assessed. The requirement is that decisions are fair, made about the individual, and based on evidence rather than a category.
This is not as new as it sounds
Some of the commentary has been alarmist. Blanket bans on benefit claimants and families were already legally risky before the Act, because the Equality Act 2010 prohibits certain direct and indirect discrimination, and "no DSS" policies had already been successfully challenged. In a 2020 county court case supported by Shelter, a letting agent's blanket refusal to let to people receiving housing benefit was found to be unlawful indirect discrimination. In a separate reported case a disabled father who was prevented from viewing properties because he received benefits was likewise found to have been unlawfully discriminated against. What the Act does is put the position beyond argument for Welsh occupation contracts and give it a specific statutory footing.
What Welsh landlords had to do
The practical step was to update the contract paperwork. From 1 June 2026 new fundamental terms were inserted into most Welsh occupation contracts, covering the right for children to live at or visit the dwelling and the right to receive benefits. They were added to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 as sections 54A and 54B and apply to most secure, fixed-term standard and periodic standard contracts.
For contracts already running, the landlord had to give each contract-holder either a written statement of the varied terms or a complete written statement of the contract as varied, by 14 June 2026. There were two ways to do it: reissue the existing written statement with the new terms worked in, or serve a separate statement of variation showing where the new terms sit within the existing document. Contracts created from 1 June 2026 onward should include the new terms from the start.
If that deadline was missed, the right course is to serve the statement now and keep the evidence of having done so.
Serving the statement properly
The statement goes to each contract-holder. Where there are joint contract-holders, serve all of them. Follow the notice provisions in the existing written statement: hand delivery, post, email where the contract-holder has agreed to receive documents electronically, or any other method the contract permits. Whichever route is used, keep the evidence.
- Email: keep the sent message, the attachment, and any delivery or read receipt.
- Post: keep a copy, proof of posting, and a note of the date.
- Hand delivery: keep a dated attendance note or a certificate of service.
The cautious approach, and the one we recommend, is to serve by email and by first-class post with proof of postage at the same time.
What does not apply in Wales
Nothing else. The abolition of Section 21, the new possession grounds, the periodic tenancy regime, the landlord register, the ombudsman: none of the English reforms under the Act apply to Welsh occupation contracts, which continue to be governed by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. For a Welsh landlord the Act amounts to a manageable compliance exercise, not an overhaul. Assess applicants fairly, keep the written statements current, and there is little here to worry about.
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