Fitness in Wales: EICRs and alarms are part of the test

· 7 min read

Every occupation contract in Wales carries an implied term that the dwelling is fit for human habitation, under sections 91 and 94 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. Not a duty you can contract out of, and not a standard the contract-holder has to invoke — it is a term of the contract itself.

The 29 matters

The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 set out 29 matters and circumstances to which regard must be had in deciding fitness. They track the Housing Health and Safety Rating System hazards familiar from England — damp and mould, excess cold, fire, electrical hazards, falls, overcrowding — but here they are wired into the contract rather than into an enforcement regime.

The practical difference: in England the HHSRS is something a council applies to you. In Wales the same subject matter is a term the contract-holder can enforce directly.

The two conditions that catch landlords out

The 2022 Regulations also make two specific requirements conditions of fitness. Fail either and the dwelling is unfit as a matter of law, whatever else is true of it:

1. Working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

Smoke alarms on each storey, mains-wired and interlinked, and a carbon monoxide alarm in each room with a gas, oil or solid fuel appliance.

2. A valid electrical condition report

An EICR carried out at least every five years, with a copy provided to the contract-holder.

This is the route Wales used, and it is worth understanding. England imposed electrical safety and alarms through standalone regulations enforced by the council with civil penalties — £30,000 for the EICR, £5,000 for alarms. Wales reached the same requirements by making them conditions of fitness, so the consequence is not primarily a penalty but that the dwelling is unfit.

Same destination, different machinery. And the Welsh machinery has a sharper edge: an unfit dwelling means a contract-holder claim, and it blocks a section 173 notice.

What unfitness actually does

  • The contract-holder can claim for breach of the implied term — damages, and an order to do the work.
  • Rent may not be payable for periods the dwelling was unfit, in defined circumstances.
  • Possession is affected. The compliance preconditions for a section 173 notice interact with these duties.
  • The council retains its own powers under the Housing Act 2004 in parallel.

Where Awaab's Law does not reach

Awaab's Law — the statutory timescales for investigating and remedying hazards — was extended to the private rented sector in England by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It does not apply in Wales. What applies instead is this fitness regime, which has no equivalent fixed clock but does give the contract-holder a direct contractual claim. See repairs and hazards in Wales.

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Information tool, not legal advice.

Common questions

Do Welsh landlords need an EICR?

Yes. An electrical installation condition report at least every five years, with a copy to the contract-holder, is a condition of fitness under the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022. Without it the dwelling is unfit as a matter of law.

What are the 29 matters?

The matters and circumstances the 2022 Regulations require regard to be had to in deciding whether a dwelling is fit for human habitation — damp and mould, excess cold, fire, electrical hazards, falls, overcrowding and others. They track the English HHSRS hazards but are wired into the occupation contract rather than into an enforcement regime.

Does Awaab's Law apply in Wales?

No. Awaab's Law was extended to the private rented sector in England by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Wales relies on the fitness for human habitation regime instead, which has no equivalent fixed timescale but gives the contract-holder a direct contractual claim.

What alarms are required in Wales?

Smoke alarms on each storey, mains-wired and interlinked, and a carbon monoxide alarm in each room containing a gas, oil or solid fuel appliance. Both are conditions of fitness, so failure makes the dwelling unfit rather than simply attracting a penalty.

Sources

Figures about our own council records are computed when this page is built, so they cannot drift from the database. Information tool, not legal advice.

Read next

Repairs in Wales: Awaab's Law does not reach here7 min readSection 173: Wales kept no-fault when England ended it7 min readEngland vs Wales: the landlord law divergence map10 min readEICR rules: the 5-year cycle and the 28-day clock7 min read

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