Rent Smart Wales – Renewing Your Landlord Registration

The requirement for landlords who let a property in Wales on a domestic tenancy (regulated, assured or assured shorthold) to register with Rent Smart Wales was introduced five years ago, and the registration is valid for five years. Consequently, those longstanding landlords among you will now be required to renew your registration.  You’ll need to provide up-to-date contact details and property particulars, and pay a fee of £36 if you complete the process online, or £67.20 if you do it the old-fashioned way. If you originally completed your registration on paper,  you can renew online easily by logging into your Rent Smart Wales account at here. If you don’t have your login details, you can call Rent Smart Wales on 0300 0133344. If you’re not sure when you originally registered, you can check on your online account or search the public register here.

When renewing, you’ll be asked to confirm the existing information held and, if necessary, provide additional information in respect of joint/company owners, property characteristics and configuration, and details of your managing agent. We appreciate that if we manage your property and you haven’t visited it for a while, you may not have all of this information to hand. If you need any assistance in completing the renewal, please email hello@redkeylets.co.uk or call us on 0333 3447850.

You can renew up to 84 days before your registration expiry date and the anniversary date will be preserved, but beware; if you miss the expiry date, you will have to pay the full fee for a new registration, which is £45 online or £84 if you do it by post. Your renewed registration will be valid for a further five years, at which time you will receive a reminder to renew again. If you sell any of your properties, or if your contact details change, it’s important that you notify Rent Smart Wales at the earliest opportunity.

Registration and licensing are two separate elements of Rent Smart Wales’s compliance activities in respect of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. If you use our managed services, it is likely that you will simply be registered, but not licensed (which requires an examination). If this is the case, we are licensed to undertake management activities on your behalf and all of our staff are qualified accordingly. The management activities would include, but are not limited to, communicating with tenants, issuing statutory documentation, administrating and producing safety records, and instructing maintenance contractors. It is vital that you do not undertake any of these activities unlicensed. You are free to nominate preferred maintenance contractors, but they must be vetted and instructed by us. Failure to comply with the provisions of the Act is an offence which could lead to:

• a fixed penalty notice of up to £150
• prosecution and unlimited fines
• a Rent Repayment Order
• a Rent Stopping Order or
• possession of the property being restricted

If you are in any doubt or you need our advice, please book a 15 minute chat with our Lettings Manager, Richard Leonard.