Section 173 Notices in Wales: The No-Fault Route

Section 173 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 lets a landlord end a periodic standard contract by giving the contract-holder notice to give up possession on a specified date, without having to prove any fault on the contract-holder's part.

Under section 173(2), the section 173 notice procedure is a fundamental provision — it is written into every periodic standard contract by the Act itself, and a landlord and contract-holder cannot remove it by agreement.

Receiving a section 173 notice does not mean you have to leave on the date given. It is the first step a landlord must take before they can apply to court for a possession order if you do not leave voluntarily.

Section 174(1) of the Act sets the minimum length of a section 173 notice: "The date specified in a notice under section 173 may not be less than six months after the day on which the notice is given to the contract-holder."

In practice, this means that from the day your landlord gives you a valid section 173 notice, you have at least six months before the date it specifies for you to give up possession.

If a notice specifies a date less than six months after the day it was given, it does not meet the section 174(1) requirement and is not a valid section 173 notice.

Section 175(1) of the Act also stops a landlord using section 173 at all in the early part of a contract: "The landlord may not give notice under section 173 before the end of the period of six months starting with the occupation date of the contract."

So a section 173 notice cannot validly be given until at least six months have passed since your occupation date — combined with the six-month notice period itself under section 174(1), this means a periodic standard contract cannot be ended by a section 173 notice any earlier than around twelve months after it started.

Sections 175(2) and 175(3) extend this rule to substitute contracts — where your occupation contract has been replaced by a new one, for example after a change to the terms. In those cases, the six-month bar is measured from the occupation date of the original contract, not the date the substitute contract started. This stops the six-month clock being reset every time a contract is technically replaced.

Section 173 only applies to periodic standard contracts. It does not apply to secure contracts, and it is not the only way a landlord can seek to end a standard contract — a landlord can instead rely on a fault-based ground (for example, rent arrears or anti-social behaviour) if one applies, using a different notice procedure set out elsewhere in the Act.

A landlord choosing between a section 173 no-fault notice and a fault-based ground will usually depend on the circumstances and on the evidence available. If you have been given a notice and are not sure which type it is, or whether it has been served correctly, check the notice itself and the date it specifies against the section 174 and 175 rules above, or get it checked by Citizens Advice or Shelter.

A section 173 notice does not itself end your occupation contract or give your landlord the right to remove you. If the date specified in the notice passes and you have not left, your landlord must apply to court for a possession order before you can lawfully be evicted. You do not have to leave simply because a notice has expired.

The court process that follows a section 173 notice, including how a possession order is obtained and enforced, is a separate procedure from the notice itself. If you are served with court papers, seek advice promptly from Citizens Advice or Shelter, or a solicitor, as there may be a defence available or a chance to negotiate more time.