The Renting Homes framework uses fundamental, supplementary and additional terms. Use the current Welsh Government model and guidance for the actual contract type and start date. Converted contracts need their own history checks.
Choose the right written statement
Establish whether this is a new contract, a converted pre-December 2022 arrangement, a replacement contract or a change involving joint contract-holders.
- Confirm the landlord's legal identity, property, occupation date, rent frequency and every contract-holder. An occupier is not automatically a joint contract-holder.
- Use the current Welsh model appropriate to a periodic or fixed-term standard contract. Read the explanatory notes before changing fundamental or supplementary terms.
- Record permitted additional terms clearly. Do not copy an English assured tenancy clause or remove a statutory protection because it appears inconvenient.
Prepare the handover pack
The written statement is one part of the start of a letting. Check the accompanying information and property evidence before handing over keys.
- Provide the written statement within the applicable statutory timescale. For a new occupation contract this is normally 14 days from the occupation date; converted contracts need their own analysis.
- Check the landlord address information, deposit protection and required information, safety records and current fitness obligations. Keep proof of when each item was provided.
- Walk through rent payments, repairs, emergencies, access and the inventory with the contract-holder. Provide accessible copies where needed and record genuine corrections.
Manage changes after occupation
Keep the original statement, amendments and evidence of delivery together so the current agreement can be reconstructed.
- Use the correct procedure when rent changes or a joint contract-holder joins or leaves. Do not overwrite the signed original to make it look as though a later term existed from the start.
- Check the June 2026 discrimination amendments against the contract and applicant process. Historic model downloads may not include current wording.
- Obtain advice where terms conflict, a required statement was late or missing, or the arrangement is unusual. Correcting the document does not necessarily erase an earlier consequence.
Example: an old template contains section 21
A fictional Welsh contract template still refers to an English section 21 notice. Stop using that template, compare the whole document with the appropriate current Welsh model and correct the affected clauses. Replacing one heading does not turn an English tenancy into a compliant Welsh written statement.
What to do
- Identify the landlord, contract-holders, occupation date and contract type.
- Check the current model statement and any permitted amendments.
- Provide the written statement and keep evidence of delivery; the usual new-contract deadline is 14 days from occupation.
Evidence to keep
- Final written statement and variations
- Delivery evidence and landlord contact details
Sources and guidance
- Renting homes: landlords, forms and model statementsWelsh Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Renting Homes: checklist for landlords and tenantsWelsh Government · checked 20 October 2026