Rent Increase Wales Step by Step: The Compliance Checklist

The Sequential Compliance Checklist

A unilateral statutory rent increase on a Welsh periodic standard contract follows the Section 123 sequence under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. Miss a step or get the order wrong and the notice is void. Here is the full checklist.

Step 1: Verify Rent Smart Wales Licensing

Log in to the Rent Smart Wales portal and confirm that both your landlord registration and your management licence are active. Serving Form RHW12 while unlicensed is a criminal offence under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, and the Court of Appeal held in Jarvis v Evans that notices served by unlicensed landlords are legally invalid.

Step 2: Classify the Contract

Determine whether the contract is:

• A newly granted periodic standard contract (created on or after 1 December 2022) — no tribunal challenge route exists.
• A converted contract (pre-December 2022 AST that converted automatically) — the contract-holder can refer the proposed rent to the Rent Assessment Committee.

This affects what happens after you serve the notice, and it determines whether you need to prepare comparable lettings evidence.

Step 3: Audit the Rent History

Check your rent ledger, bank statements and any previous Form RHW12 or Section 13 notices to confirm that at least 12 months have passed since the last rent variation took effect. If no previous increase was made, the 12-month clock started at the occupation date.

Step 4: Download Form RHW12

Get the current official form from the Welsh Government portal at gov.wales. Do not use third-party templates that may omit the mandatory guidance notes or modify the form layout.

Step 5: Complete the Form

Fill in all six parts:

• Part A: Tick "Periodic standard contract."
• Part B: Landlord's full legal name and address (matching Rent Smart Wales).
• Part C: Every joint contract-holder's full name.
• Part D: Dwelling address.
• Part E: Current rent, proposed new rent, and the effective date.
• Part F: Signature and date.

Step 6: Calculate the Effective Date

Work out the deemed service date for your chosen delivery method (hand delivery = same day, first-class post = second business day after posting, email = day of transmission if before 16:30). Allow two full calendar months to elapse from that date before setting the effective date in Part E; it must also be at least 12 months from the last variation.

Step 7: Serve the Notice

Deliver Form RHW12 to every joint contract-holder individually using a method permitted by Section 237: hand delivery, post, or email with prior written consent. Retain proof of service for each person served.

Step 8: Archive Everything

File the completed Form RHW12, proof of service, the rent history audit and any supporting documentation. If the contract is converted, this is the evidence base you will need if a Rent Assessment Committee referral arrives.

Step 9: Monitor for Referral (Converted Contracts Only)

Track the two-month window from the contract-holder's receipt of Form RHW12. If the contract-holder submits Form RAC4 within that window, prepare your market comparables for the committee hearing. If the deadline passes without a filing, the proposed rent takes effect as specified.

Step 10: Confirm the Fee Position

You cannot charge the contract-holder any fee for the rent increase process. Under the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019, administrative charges for serving notices or updating written statements are prohibited payments.

The printable version of this checklist — with the date calculation worksheet and the Section 237 service log built in — is in the Wales Rent Increase Guide.

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