Agents given 11 extra weeks to comply with new Welsh holding deposits law
The decision by the Housing Minister Julie James follows meeting a with representatives of ARLA Propertymark, including its Chief Executive and Welsh board member.
Letting agents in Wales have been given an extra 11 weeks to implement changes to the way holding deposits can be taken after a meeting between the Welsh Housing Minister Julie James and ARLA Propertymark.
During the meeting representatives from ARLA told James that the original deadline of 13th December would have made extraordinary demands on agents.
This is because, ARLA argued, giving agents just 19 worksing days’ notice to comply was not enough time for IT systems to be amended, staff to be retrained and new procedures to be drawn up.
“The Minister fully appreciated our points and stated unequivocally that she wanted to work with professional agents and had no intention of putting our members in the difficult position of not having enough time to properly prepare for new laws before they are implemented,” says the ARLA Board Member for Wales, Angela Davey (left).
Letting agents in Wales now have until 28th February to comply with the new legislation.
The new legislation within the Renting Homes (Fees, etc) (Wales) Act 2019 requires agents to provide tenants with a lengthy list of information about the holding deposit before it can be collected.
This includes the amount, which address it is for, details of any reference checks and the address and contact details of either the landlord or letting agent, depending on who is managing the property.
“Last month ARLA Propertymark members were provided with a Fact Sheet and an editable template form in order to help you comply,” says ARLA Chief Executive David Cox. “We will be amending these to reflect today’s announcements and will re-issue updated versions shortly.”
