{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/renting-homes-wales-act-2016/section-181",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/renting-homes-wales-act-2016/section-181.json",
  "legislation": "anaw/2016/1",
  "legislation_title": "Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/renting-homes-wales-act-2016",
  "path": "section/181",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "181",
  "heading": "Serious rent arrears",
  "text": "(1) If the contract-holder under a periodic standard contract is seriously in arrears with his or her rent, the landlord may on that ground make a possession claim.\n(2) The contract-holder is seriously in arrears with his or her rent—\n(a) where the rental period is a week, a fortnight or four weeks, if at least eight weeks' rent is unpaid;\n(b) where the rental period is a month, if at least two months' rent is unpaid;\n(c) where the rental period is a quarter, if at least one quarter's rent is more than three months in arrears;\n(d) where the rental period is a year, if at least 25% of the rent is more than three months in arrears.\n(3) Section 216 provides that the court must (subject to any available defence based on the contract-holder's Convention rights) make an order for possession of the dwelling if it is satisfied that the contract-holder—\n(a) was seriously in arrears with his or her rent on the day on which the landlord gave the contract-holder the possession notice, and\n(b) is seriously in arrears with his or her rent on the day on which the court hears the possession claim.\n(4) This section is a fundamental provision which is incorporated as a term of all periodic standard contracts.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in s. 181(1) substituted (7.6.2021) by Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 3), s. 19(3), Sch. 6 para. 16"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "Pt. 9 excluded (1.12.2022) by 2004 c. 34, s. 33(c) (as inserted by The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1166), regs. 1(1), 28(2)(c))"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 181 in force at 1.12.2022 by S.I. 2022/906, art. 2"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1/section/181",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:18:17.774658+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}