£52/yr rent limit for fitness: LTA 1985 s. 8 (Wales)
Section 8 LTA 1985 implies a fitness condition for lettings in Wales, but only if the annual rent does not exceed £52 (for contracts from 6th July 1957).
Official text
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LTA 1985 s. 8 — United Kingdom
In a contract to which this section applies for the letting of a house in Wales for human habitation there is implied, notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary— a condition that the house is fit for human habitation at the commencement of the tenancy, and an undertaking that the house will be kept by the landlord fit for human habitation during the tenancy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This section applies to a contract if— the rent does not exceed the figure applicable in accordance with the subsection (4), and the letting is not on such terms as to the tenant’s responsibility as are mentioned in subsection (5). The rent limit for the application of this section is shown by the following Table, by reference to the date of making of the contract and the situation of the premises: Date of making of contract Rent limit Before 31st July 1923. In London: £40. Elsewhere: £26 or £16 (see Note 1). On or after 31st July 1923 and before 6th July 1957. In London: £40. Elsewhere: £26. On or after 6th July 1957. In London: £80. Elsewhere: £52. NOTES 1. The applicable figure for contracts made before 31st July 1923 is £26 in the case of premises situated in a borough or urban district which at the date of the contract had according to the last published census a population of 50,000 or more. In the case of a house situated elsewhere, the figure is £16.
2. The references to “ London ” are, in relation to contracts made before 1st April 1965, to the administrative county of London and, in relation to contracts made on or after that date, to Greater London exclusive of the outer London boroughs. This section does not apply where a house is let for a term of three years or more (the lease not being determinable at the option of either party before the expiration of three years) upon terms that the tenant puts the premises into a condition reasonably fit for human habitation. This section does not apply if the contract is an occupation contract (for provisions about the condition of dwellings that are subject to an occupation contract, see Part 4 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 1) ). In this section, “ occupation contract ” has the same meaning as in the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 7 of that Act). In this section “ house ” includes— a part of a house, and any yard, garden, outhouses and appurtenances belonging to the house or usually enjoyed with it.
Section 8 implies into a letting of a house in Wales for human habitation, notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary, both a condition that the house is fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and an undertaking that the landlord will keep it fit during the tenancy. On its face that is the strongest repairing obligation in the Act, because unfitness is a wider idea than disrepair and the obligation is continuing.
In practice it is almost never available, and the reason is printed in the section itself. Subsection (3) applies it only where the rent does not exceed the figure in the table in subsection (4), and that table stops in 1957: for contracts made on or after 6 July 1957 the limit is £80 a year in London and £52 a year elsewhere. Those figures have never been raised. A modern letting at anything resembling a market rent is outside the section before any argument about the condition of the house begins.
Two further limits sit at the end. Subsection (5) disapplies it where a house is let for three years or more on terms that the tenant will put it into a condition reasonably fit for human habitation. Subsection (6) disapplies it where the contract is an occupation contract, and directs the reader to Part 4 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 - which is where the fitness obligation for occupation contracts in Wales now lives. "House" is defined broadly to include a part of a house and any yard, garden, outhouses and appurtenances. The English counterpart, without the rent limits, is section 9A.
When it applies
A tenant in Wales researching the fitness obligations that apply to their letting.
Working out whether an older Welsh tenancy pre-dating the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 falls inside or outside this section.
Comparing the position in Wales with section 9A in England.
A letting in Wales at a nominal or historic rent, such as an agricultural or family arrangement.
Understanding which fitness standard the landlord's obligation actually comes from.
What this section does not say
×It does not apply to ordinary modern lettings. The rent limits in subsection (4) - £80 a year in London, £52 elsewhere for contracts from 6 July 1957 - were never uprated, and a market rent takes the letting outside the section.
×It does not apply in England. This section was confined to Wales; the English fitness covenant is section 9A.
×It does not apply to occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. Subsection (6) expressly excludes them and points to Part 4 of that Act.
×It does not define fitness. The matters to be considered are in section 10.
×It is not a repairing covenant. Fitness and repair are different standards, and the repairing obligation for short lettings is section 11.
Worked examples
Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.
Illustrative example
A tenant in Wales at an ordinary market rent has read online that their landlord is under a statutory duty to keep the house fit for human habitation, and has quoted section 8 in a letter. The landlord's reply says the section does not apply.
How the wording applies
On its face section 8 is the strongest obligation in the Act, because unfitness is wider than disrepair and the undertaking is continuing. What decides it is subsection (3): the section only applies where the rent is within the table in subsection (4), and those figures - eighty pounds a year in London, fifty-two elsewhere for contracts from 6 July 1957 - were never uprated. So the fact that ends the argument is the rent, before anything about the condition of the house is reached, and the real obligations for a modern Welsh letting sit in Part 4 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
How the parties settled it
Both agree to drop the section 8 argument and to deal with the condition points under the occupation contract instead, with a schedule of works and dates agreed within a month.
Illustrative example
A family occupies a cottage on a relative's land at a nominal annual rent recorded in an old written agreement. The building has no damp course and the arrangement predates the current Welsh legislation. Everyone is arguing about who is responsible for putting it right.
How the wording applies
This is the unusual case where the rent limits in subsection (4) do not exclude the letting, so the implied condition and undertaking can genuinely be in play. Two further limits then decide it: subsection (5) disapplies the section where a house is let for three years or more on terms that the tenant will put it into a fit condition, and subsection (6) takes out occupation contracts entirely. The fact everything turns on is therefore what the original agreement said about who would put the cottage right.
How the parties settled it
The parties agree to share the cost of a damp survey, with the landowner funding the structural work identified and the family funding internal redecoration afterwards.
Say what is happening. A neutral mediator hears your side and the other party's, and walks you both to a written agreement. In the advanced settings you can ask for the decision to be reasoned on the Acts of Parliament that apply in England and Wales.
We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.
This page reproduces the text of LTA 1985 s. 8 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.