In Wales, landlords and agents who undertake letting and management work at rental properties are legally required to have a Rent Smart Wales licence.
The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 requirements aim to ensure that those letting and managing domestic tenancies are suitable to do so and are appropriately trained in their rights and obligations.
A landlord who doesn’t employ an agent or who undertakes letting and management activities needs to be licensed.
The letting and management activities that trigger the need for a licence are different depending on whether you are a landlord or agent. Click here to view the landlord list prescribed in sections 6 and 7 of the Act.
Click here to view the agent list prescribed in sections 10 and 11 of the Act.
There are two licence types; Landlord and Agent. If you are both a landlord and an agent, then it is sufficient to apply for an agent licence only.
After completing a registration, a landlord conducting letting and managing activities at properties they own needs to apply for a landlord licence and complete the necessary landlord training.
Landlords who are not involved in setting up tenancies and managing their rental properties do not need a licence; however they must appoint a licensed agent.
Those completing letting and/or management responsibilities on behalf of a landlord, are agents under the Act and need to apply for an agent licence and complete approved agent training.
An agent could be an individual or organisation, a spouse, a family member or friend of the landlord or a commercial agent.
The quickest and easiest way to apply is online. A paper application is available to download here.
An integral part of your licence application is that you demonstrate that you have undertaken approved Rent Smart Wales training. Options are available here.
Once the application is submitted, it can take up to 8 weeks to be reviewed and determined. If a licence is awarded, the applicant will receive their licence documents displaying a unique licence number and including a set of licence conditions.
Rent Smart Wales may contact you to request further information or documentation to support your application.
To start your licence application click here.
The applicant and all connected users* conducting letting and management activities must complete approved Rent Smart Wales training before submitting a licence application.
*A staff member on the payroll involved with letting and management activities would require training. A full definition can be found in the Act section 6(2) and 7(2)
This can be completed either:
or
Rent Smart Wales offers both online and classroom training to provide the opportunity to complete training in an environment which best suits the individual and at a pace appropriate to personal and business needs.
Evidence of approved training must accompany your licence application.
If you are applying for your first licence, approved training options are listed below:
*External training providers may deliver approved courses for different fees.
Training options for licence renewal are more extensive. Further details are available here.
Applicants who have access or health issues should contact Rent Smart Wales to discuss the possibility of additional assistance.
Rent Smart Wales licence fees are published in a Fee Policy available here and are summarised below.
Application type
Single payment: £187
Split fee: Part 1 -£155 Part 2 - £71
Single payment: £223
Split fee: Part 1: £196 Part 2- £66
Landlord licence - Early compliance reward*
**Applications renewed 42 days or more before their expiry date
Single payment: £168.30
Split fee: Part 1 - £143 Part 2 - £64.30
Single payment: £200.70
Split fee: Part 1 - £180 Part 2 - £59.70
Agent fees are graduated to reflect the portfolio size. A discount also applies if an Agent is a member of a recognised professional body. These bodies are currently: UKALA, ARLA, RICS, Safeagent. In some circumstances payment options are available. For further information, view the Fee Policy here.
A licence is valid for 5 years from date of issue.
Upon expiry, a renewal application will be required if the licensee is still involved in letting and management activities.
The renewal application can be submitted 84 days before expiry of the current licence, with the anniversary of expiry still being protected.
To check the validity of an existing licence, view our public register here.
Every licence is issued with a set of conditions that a landlord or agent must follow. Failure to abide by these conditions puts a licence at risk of revocation.
These conditions set out the things that must be done to maintain a licence over its 5 year duration. Sometimes, bespoke conditions and deadlines are applied to deal with specific concerns.
Compliance with the Code of Practice is a condition attached to every licence. This document lists all the legal requirements that licensees must comply with at every milestone throughout a tenancy.
Agents usually have additional conditions to demonstrate that they have the following safeguards in place:
To learn more about whether you require safeguards and what they entail, click here.