Rent Smart Wales Code of Practice and Fit-and-Proper Person Test Explained

Two Requirements That Come With Your Licence

When Rent Smart Wales grants a landlord or agent licence, it comes with two binding obligations beyond the registration itself: compliance with the Code of Practice for Licensed Landlords and Agents, and a fit-and-proper person assessment before the licence is issued. Both are statutory — they sit in the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, not in guidance notes you can ignore.

The Code of Practice

The Code of Practice is issued by Welsh Ministers under Section 40 of the 2014 Act. Under Section 22(1), every licence includes a mandatory condition requiring compliance with the Code. Breaking it is not just poor practice — it is a breach of your licence conditions and can trigger enforcement action from Rent Smart Wales or your local council.

The Code covers the full lifecycle of a tenancy:

Before letting. You must ensure the property meets all applicable safety standards, provide prospective contract-holders with accurate information about the dwelling, and display your Rent Smart Wales registration number and licence number (or your licensed agent's number) in all advertising and marketing materials.

During the tenancy. You must maintain the property in a safe and habitable condition, respond to repair requests within reasonable timeframes, protect deposits in an approved scheme within 30 days, carry out routine inspections with proper notice, and keep records of all communications, repairs, and safety checks.

At the end. You must handle deposit returns fairly and within statutory timeframes, serve notices correctly (which requires current registration and licensing), and allow access for final inspections with reasonable notice.

Updated conditions from 1 September 2025. Licences issued or renewed from this date carry enhanced requirements:

• Six-monthly physical inspections for all HMOs, including those on joint tenancies
• Minimum two-year retention of all tenancy management documentation, inspection logs, safety certificates, and communication records (or the full tenancy duration, whichever is longer)
• Active co-operation with local authorities and police on anti-social behaviour at your properties
• Corporate directors overseeing letting operations must complete Rent Smart Wales training and be linked to the corporate licence profile

The Fit-and-Proper Person Test

Section 20 of the 2014 Act requires the Licensing Authority to determine whether you are a fit and proper person before granting a licence. This is a declaration-based assessment — you complete it as part of your licence application, and Rent Smart Wales may follow up with additional checks.

The declaration covers:

• Criminal convictions involving fraud, dishonesty, violence, drug trafficking, or sexual offences
• Unlawful discrimination findings under equality legislation
• Housing law contraventions — previous enforcement action, improvement notices, prohibition orders
• Banning orders or licence revocations under any housing regulatory regime

For corporate applicants, the fit-and-proper check extends beyond the company entity to designated responsible persons, company directors, and operational managers who control housing operations. Rent Smart Wales can require production of a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate or court documentation where background checks raise concerns.

What Gets You Refused

The Licensing Authority assesses whether an applicant is fit and proper under Section 20. The application addresses criminal convictions and the other matters listed above. Follow the current Rent Smart Wales form's disclosure instructions for individual convictions, including any question about spent convictions.

If your application is refused on fit-and-proper grounds, the appeal deadline is typically 28 days from service of the decision notice. The RPTW hears appeals of Rent Smart Wales decisions.

Why This Matters Practically

A Code of Practice breach does not just risk your licence. Under Section 44 of the 2014 Act, a Section 173 no-fault notice is blocked if you are unregistered for the dwelling, self-manage without a valid licence, or appoint an unlicensed agent. If Rent Smart Wales revokes your licence for a Code breach, you cannot use this route while a required registration or licence is invalid.

The practical protection is documentation. Keep records of every inspection, every repair, every communication with your contract-holder. If your compliance is ever challenged — by Rent Smart Wales in an audit, by a tenant in a tribunal, or by a judge in a possession hearing — those records are what you will rely on.

Our Rent Smart Wales Registration and Licensing Guide covers the Code of Practice obligations chapter by chapter and includes a compliance record designed for exactly this purpose — documenting your registration, licensing, training, and ongoing management in one place.

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