Compulsory landlord registration in Wales
Since 23 November 2015, all Landlords with privately rented property let out on a domestic tenancy in Wales are legally required to register with Rent Smart Wales in order to comply with the law.
Domestic tenancies include Assured/ Assured Shorthold Tenancy under the Housing Act 1988 or a Regulated Tenancy under the Rent Act 1977 (even if the tenancy is not written) (as defined in s.2 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014).
The immediate landlord of a rental property in Wales needs to complete a landlord registration and must do so themselves. A landlord registration involves providing landlord personal details, rental property addresses owned by that landlord, and the details of those responsible for the letting and/or management activities at the rental property.
A landlord could be:
Joint landlords simply register through one registration. A joint landlord arrangement will require one landlord to act as the ‘lead’ landlord for the purposes of registration.
For a company, charity or trust, the details provided should be those of the organisation, not the individual completing the registration and the company/charity registration numbers will also be required. These can be found on Companies House for limited companies and LLCs and on the Charity Commission for charities.
No - if you are a letting and/or managing agent and are not the immediate landlord of the rental property, you should not complete a registration on the landlord’s behalf.
This is because the person completing the registration has to verify that the information being registered is true, accurate and complete as they are personally responsible for the record.
There are only two exceptions to this, which are in the case of Power of Attorney and Executors, for which there is further guidance in our FAQs.
The easiest and cheapest way to register is online however it is also possible to complete a paper application if preferred.
Online fee
Paper fee
New and revoked registration
£45
£84
Renewing a registration
£36
£67.20
Registrations are split into two application types – new registration and renewal.
To take advantage of the renewal fee, the landlord must apply for registration renewal within the 84 days before the registration expires.
If a landlord has an existing registration but allows it to expire, this will incur a new registration fee and not the renewal fee.
Once completed, the landlord registration is valid for 5 years. Upon expiry, you will need to renew the registration to comply for a further 5 years.
To check the validity of an existing landlord registration, view our public register here.
To start the online registration process, you must first create an account here.
To complete the registration process you will need:
It is important that your registration reflects the ownership arrangement of the rental property. Different ownership arrangements will require their own separate registration.
If you own one property individually, and another property jointly with another person, you will need to create two separate registrations and may also need two separate licences if you both undertake letting and management activities
Example 2 If you and another person own two properties jointly, only one registration is required
Landlords not involved in setting up tenancies and managing their rental properties do not require a licence however they must:
Landlords who undertake letting and management tasks at their rental properties must:
Learn more about licensing here.
The requirement to register does not apply:
No, a property that is already registered cannot be registered by another or new landlord until documentary evidence has been provided to Rent Smart Wales, providing proof of landlord interest. The property is then added to the appropriate registration.
Types of evidence that you can provide include:
Evidence should be sent using the contact details available here.
If the landlord of a registered rental property in Wales has died the executor, next of kin, or legal representative should notify Rent Smart Wales within 28 days.
To do this, complete and return the ‘Registration/Licence No Longer Required’ Form, which can be downloaded here.
Only the legal representative, executor or next of kin can complete this form on behalf of the landlord/agent who has died. If the rental property(ies) continues to be rented, the executor/legal representative of the landlord must complete a landlord registration for the property and the person now responsible for the letting and/or management activities must be appropriately licensed to do so.
Failure to register or providing false or misleading information on your registration is an offence which could lead to:
If you are aware of an unregistered landlord, report them here.
To view our Enforcement Policy, click here.
If you no longer rent our any properties on a domestic tenancy in Wales, it is important that you inform Rent Smart Wales to help us manage your data appropriately and prevent further contact. To notify Rent Smart Wales, log-in to your account here, select ‘I Am No Longer A Landlord’ and follow the on-screen instructions. If you are not able to log-in, or you are not the account holder, please complete the Registration No Longer Required Form found here.