Picture a landlord letting a terraced house in Cardiff, wanting a document that actually reflects Welsh law rather than an English tenancy agreement with the place names changed. Since the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 came into force on 1 December 2022, that letting is not a tenancy at all in the English sense. It is a standard occupation contract, the occupier is a contract-holder rather than a tenant, and the structure of the document is set out by statute in a way that has no direct equivalent south of the border.
This guide sets out what a well-drafted occupation contract needs to include, how it differs from an English tenancy, and how to draft one from a fixed clause library and take it through to signature. It is general information, not legal advice.
Who this matters most to
Landlords letting residential property in Wales, and letting agents managing Welsh lettings, both need to work from the Renting Homes framework rather than an English tenancy template. The reason this matters specifically is that Wales and England now run genuinely different systems. An assured shorthold tenancy template used for a Welsh letting is not just slightly wrong, it uses the wrong legal concepts entirely, and failing to give a written statement is not a minor gap: until one is given, a landlord cannot give a section 173 notice.
Fundamental terms and supplementary terms
| Term type | What it means | Can it be changed? |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamental terms | Core rights and obligations set by the Act, for example deposit protection and the landlord's repair duties | Only removed or modified if doing so improves the contract-holder's position |
| Supplementary terms | Default terms set out in regulations, which apply unless the parties agree otherwise | Can be varied or, within limits, excluded, by agreement between the parties |
| Additional terms | Anything else the parties agree, specific to that letting | Freely negotiable, provided they do not conflict with fundamental terms |
Fundamental terms are the backbone of the contract. They cover matters the Act says should apply to every occupation contract regardless of what the landlord would prefer, deposit protection and the landlord's repair obligations being clear examples. A landlord and contract-holder can agree to leave a fundamental term out, or change it, but only where doing so makes the contract-holder's position better, never worse, and some fundamental provisions, such as the deposit scheme rules and the court procedure for possession, can never be changed at all. This one-way ratchet is deliberate. It stops a landlord from using a supposedly negotiated variation to strip out a protection the law intended the occupier to keep.
Supplementary terms work differently. These are default terms, set out in regulations, that get inserted automatically into the contract unless the parties agree otherwise. Unlike fundamental terms, supplementary terms can genuinely be varied or, within set limits, excluded by agreement. This is where a landlord and contract-holder have real room to shape the contract to the specific letting, provided the fundamental terms underneath are left untouched.
The written statement duty
A landlord must give the contract-holder a written statement of the occupation contract within 14 days of the occupation date. The Welsh Government has issued model written statements, and using one means every relevant fundamental and supplementary provision is incorporated correctly without the landlord having to draft that structure from scratch. The written statement typically has three layers: the key matters on page one, names, property address, occupation date, rent and payment details; the fundamental terms, which cannot be removed or weakened; and the supplementary terms, which apply by default but can be varied by agreement. Missing the 14-day deadline is a compliance failure that can matter a great deal later: the contract-holder can be owed compensation, and a section 173 notice cannot be given until the statement has been provided, or for six months after a late one.
Rent, deposit and repairs
Rent and payment terms sit in the key matters section of the written statement, so both sides can see them without reading the full contract. Deposit protection is itself a fundamental term, and Rent Smart Wales registration and licensing sit alongside it as separate legal requirements that a landlord must meet regardless of what the contract says. The landlord's repair obligations under section 92 are fundamental terms too, so they cannot be weakened by agreement, and the landlord must also keep the home fit for human habitation.
Notice periods and possession
This is the area where Wales has moved furthest from the English position. For a new periodic standard contract, a no-fault notice under section 173 of the Act must give at least six months' notice, and it cannot be given within the first six months of occupation. Section 173 applies to periodic standard contracts; a fixed-term contract may contain a break clause, which has its own rules. The template here is a fixed term standard contract with no section 173 route during the term; if the contract-holder stays on after it, a periodic contract arises and section 173 applies to that. Schedule 9A of the Act also stops a landlord giving a section 173 notice in set situations, including where no written statement has been provided, the deposit has not been dealt with under the scheme rules, the energy performance certificate, gas safety report or electrical condition report has not been provided, or working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are not in place. Rent Smart Wales registration and licensing are separate legal requirements, so check them before serving any notice too. Notice periods and grounds in this area have changed before and can change again, so check the current position on gov.wales or legislation.gov.uk before you serve a notice.
How this differs from an England tenancy
The vocabulary alone signals how different the systems are. Wales has contract-holders, occupation contracts and section 173 notices; England has tenants, assured periodic tenancies and Section 8 notices under the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. England abolished its no-fault route on 1 May 2026, so possession there needs a Section 8 ground, such as Ground 1A for a sale on four months' notice, while Wales keeps a no-fault section 173 route with at least six months' notice. England has no fundamental-versus-supplementary term structure at all, relying instead on implied statutory duties layered on top of a freely drafted tenancy agreement. If you are letting property in England rather than Wales, see our assured periodic tenancy explainer instead, since the two frameworks should not be mixed.
Where landlords get this wrong
The most common mistake is using an English tenancy template for a Welsh letting, missing the fundamental and supplementary term structure entirely and leaving the written statement duty unmet. The second is serving a section 173 notice without first checking the Schedule 9A conditions, such as a written statement given and the deposit protected, and separately that the landlord is registered and licensed with Rent Smart Wales, only to find the notice cannot be relied on however correctly the six-month period was calculated.
How to draft one in 99 Data Rooms
Inside AI Legal Drafting, the 99 Data Rooms template library, the Occupation Contract (Wales) sits in the Property & tenancy group, alongside the Assured Periodic Tenancy (England) and the Lodger Licence (England). It is a fixed term standard contract written to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 structure: fundamental and supplementary terms noted, the 14-day written statement, and a periodic contract arising if the contract-holder stays on after the term. As with every template in the library, the assistant selects clauses by ID from a fixed clause library using your answers and fills the blanks, which matters here because Wales and England now use genuinely different legal concepts, and a generic AI chatbot can easily blend the two without flagging it. See our companion guide on drafting a Wales occupation contract with AI for the full walk-through, or our guide to the best data room for property and real estate if you are managing lettings on both sides of the border.
Draft it, share it, sign it, one flow
Once the draft is ready, share it with the contract-holder as a tracked, revocable link rather than a printed pack. On Plus, gate it behind a verified email, so you know the right person opened their own contract, and page-by-page analytics show which pages they opened, and for how long, before signing.
When both sides are ready, send it for signature in the browser, from Plus. The contract-holder signs without needing an account, and the executed document returns with an audit certificate recording who signed, when, their intent to sign, a privacy-protected network location and a SHA-256 fingerprint. Electronic signatures are valid for most commercial documents in England and Wales (a deed needs a witness who is physically present, which this e-signature flow does not record); see our explainer on whether electronic signatures are legally binding for the detail. General information, not legal advice. Store the signed contract, the written statement and the occupation date together, and set a reminder ahead of any notice deadline.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fundamental and supplementary terms?
Fundamental terms are set by the Act and can only be left out or changed if that improves the contract-holder's position, and some can never be changed. Supplementary terms are default provisions set out in regulations that apply automatically but can be varied or, within limits, excluded by agreement between the parties.
How long does a landlord have to give the written statement?
Fourteen days from the occupation date. The statement must set out the key matters, the fundamental terms and the supplementary terms that apply to that contract, and using a Welsh Government model statement is the safest way to get the structure right.
How much notice is needed for a no-fault eviction in Wales?
For a new periodic standard contract, at least six months under a section 173 notice, which cannot be given within the first six months of occupation. It also cannot be given while certain obligations are unmet, such as providing a written statement or protecting the deposit.
Is an occupation contract the same as an English tenancy agreement?
No. Wales operates under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, with contract-holders, occupation contracts and a fundamental-and-supplementary term structure. England uses assured periodic tenancies under the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The two should not be mixed.
Can fundamental terms be removed from the contract?
Only if removing or modifying them leaves the contract-holder in a better position than the default fundamental term would, and some fundamental terms can never be removed or changed. A landlord cannot use an agreed variation to weaken a fundamental protection, which is the whole point of setting it apart from the supplementary terms.
Draft your occupation contract in 99 Data Rooms
You can draft a standard occupation contract from a fixed clause library, keep it, and share or sign it in the same place, built around the fundamental and supplementary term structure the Act requires rather than an adapted English template. Signing starts on Plus. The free tier gives three rooms and twenty-five active links, forever, with no card, plus Legal credits for the drafter each month. Start for free.
Sources
- Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, full text: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1
- Explanatory notes, fundamental and supplementary terms: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1/notes/division/1?view=plain
- Written statements and model contracts, Law Wales: https://law.gov.wales/public-services/housing/renting-homes-wales-act-2016
- Section 173 notice and the increase in notice period, Welsh Government: https://www.gov.wales/renting-homes-wales-act-2016-improving-security-tenure-increasing-period-notice-html
- Section 173, Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1/section/173
- Restrictions on giving a section 173 notice, Schedule 9A: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1/schedule/9A
- Fundamental provisions that cannot be changed, section 20, and repair, section 92: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1/section/20 ; https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1/section/92
- Rent Smart Wales registration and licensing: https://rentsmart.gov.wales
- Electronic execution of documents, Law Commission (2019): https://lawcom.gov.uk/project/electronic-execution-of-documents/