Occupation Contract (Wales)

An Occupation Contract is a written contract between a landlord and one or more contract-holders that sets the terms for renting a home in Wales. It covers the rent amount and how it is paid, the deposit where one is taken, responsibility for utilities and repairs, rules on pets, occupation, alterations, and subletting, and the way the contract ends. The people involved are described as the “landlord” and the “contract-holder” rather than landlord and tenant. “Periodic” means the contract runs from one rent period to the next - month to month, or week to week - rather than for a fixed block of time with a set end date. This structure reflects the framework that applies to renting a home in Wales under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, under which a periodic standard contract rolls on continuously until either the contract-holder ends it by giving notice or the landlord recovers possession through the grounds and court process set out in the Act. It functions as the written statement of the contract - the document that records the terms of the occupation - with the fundamental and supplementary terms established by the Act applying alongside it.