Renting – your rights and responsibilities
If you rent your home you will have a legal agreement with the landlord which sets out your rights and responsibilities. This agreement may be in writing or be verbal.
Your legal agreement should tell you the type of tenancy you have. Different types of tenancy give you very different rights and responsibilities. These pages will help you find out what they are.
Shelter Cymru does not give advice to leaseholders. If you are a leaseholder and are unsure of your rights, go to the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) website for information and advice.
For urgent advice please call our expert housing advice helpline on 0345 075 5005
or, for non-urgent enquiries please use our email advice service. An adviser will aim to reply to emails within five working days.
Advice near you
Shelter Cymru operate numerous advice centres and surgeries across Wales. To find out when there is an adviser in your area, visit advice near you and find your local area.
Private tenants
Private tenants can have several different types of tenancy. Some of these give you more rights than others.
Council tenants
In Wales, councils provide secure, introductory and demoted tenancies. The type of tenancy the council give you will affect many of your rights.
Housing association tenants
Housing associations in Wales provide secure, assured, assured shorthold (starter) or demoted tenancies. Not all tenants of Housing associations have the same rights.
Assured shorthold tenancies
This section explains the rights you have if you have an assured shorthold tenancy with a private landlord.
Assured tenancies
This section explains the rights you have if you are an assured tenant with a private landlord.
Renting agreements
If you are renting your home, you either have a tenancy or a licence to live in the property. This page explains what to look for in your rental agreement.
Sharing and subletting
Sharing a home with other people can be great fun, but it’s important to know what your rights are and what to do if there is a problem.
Ending a tenancy or licence
You must end your agreement properly if you want to leave. If you don’t you may still be liable to pay rent
Mobile home tenancies
This page helps you work out what kind of tenancy you may have if you rent a mobile home from a landlord
Agricultural tenancies
This page briefly explains the housing rights of people who live in homes as part of their job on a farm
We are sorry that we cannot provide this information in Welsh, however if you would like to speak to an adviser in Welsh please contact 0345 075 5005.
This page was last updated on: May 29, 2017
Shelter Cymru acknowledges the support of Shelter in allowing us to adapt their content. The information contained on this site is updated and maintained by Shelter Cymru and only gives general guidance on the law in Wales. It should not be regarded or relied upon as a complete or authoritative statement of the law.
