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A Caerphilly Council officer has raised concerns that a new housing law will make it difficult for local authorities to deal with antisocial behaviour.

In December 2022, The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 will come into force – it has been described by Caerphilly County Borough Council as “the biggest change to housing law in Wales for decades”.

It was originally meant to come into force from July 15, but was delayed after landlords and social landlords called for more time to prepare.

The impact of the Wales-wide law was discussed at the council’s housing and regeneration scrutiny committee at a meeting on Thursday, June 9.

At the meeting, Fiona Wilkins, the council’s public sector housing manager, said: “It doesn’t mean we can’t take action when it come to anti-social behaviour, but it does state that the tenant is not responsible.”

The council officer added: “It will be more difficult for us to take strong action against visitors and tenants.”

After December, tenants will no longer be automatically responsible for the behaviour of anyone they live with, or criminal behaviour within the vicinity.

Labour councillor Walter Williams, who represents Argoed, questioned the impact of this on neighbours.

The Welsh Government has said the act aims to simplify housing law and make it easier for tenants to rent a home in Wales.

At the meeting, head of housing at the council, Nick Taylor-Williams, said: “The policy is in favour of the tenants and it’s a positive move from Welsh Government.”

He added that local authority’s implementation of the law will take extra time and extra resources.

The act was expected to be implemented on July 15, but this has since been changed to December 2022 following calls from landlords for more time to prepare.

What other changes are there with the new law?

There will now be two types of landlords. Community landlords, which includes local authorities and registered social landlords, and private landlords. Also, tenants will be formally known as contract holders.

Tenancy agreements will now be called occupation contracts, and there will be two types; secure occupation contracts by community landlords, and standard occupation contracts by private landlords.

By mid-June 2023, all landlords will need to have converted current tenancy agreements to occupation contracts and will have sent out a written statement confirming this.

All properties must be Fit For Human Habitation (FFHH) – this includes the property’s overall condition, electric safety checks, and working carbon monoxide detectors.

The minimum notice period a landlord can give a tenant to leave the property is two months for no fault notices. These can’t be issued for at least six months from the beginning of the contract.

A joint contract holder can remove themselves from the contract without a landlord’s consent. Additionally, landlords must give two months’ notice if rent is to be increased, and this can only be done once a year.

After serving a four-week warning notice and carrying out investigations, landlords will be able to repossess an abandoned property without needing a
court order.

The report presented to the scrutiny committee states: “Caerphilly Homes’ tenants (contract holders) will benefit from the positive changes brought about by the act, their legal rights to live in their home will not be any less secure and no-one will have to move home.

“Caerphilly Homes will continue to provide the same services, and all existing legal rights will remain, with the addition of some new rights.”

The information was noted by the committee and the report will now be presented to Cabinet on July 13.