Service of Documents (Occupation Contracts)

Any notice or document required or authorised under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 ("the Act") may be delivered by the means set out in section 237 of the Act.

Any notice or other document (including a copy) must be in writing (s.236(2)).

The rules apply equally to landlords, agents and contract holders.

The rules apply to all notices and other documents under the Act and include (not an exhaustive list)-

  • written statement of contract
  • deposit required information
  • landlord no-reason notice
  • landlord arrears or breach of contract notice
  • contract-holder notice
  • contract-holder withdrawal

Check contents

Before sending a notice, check the contents carefully, particularly spelling, postcode and date of expiry (where applicable).

The names on the notice should match the names on the occupation contract (unless a name has legally changed, for example, through marriage).

Number of copies

You will need to keep a copy of the signed notice for yourself.

You usually will print three copies in total. One for the contract holder (post), another for the contract holder (hand delivery) and one for yourself - see later for delivery.

Date of expiry or when something begins

You should always add at least four days to any action date on the notice, even when hand delivering. The four days are because court rules say that documents are deemed delivered the second business day after being posted. Even though Renting Homes notices are not court documents, many courts follow this general court rule.

Any date of expiry (possession notice) or date something begins (e.g. rent increase) should be at least four days longer than the notices' minimum length from the date of service entered when signing.

Signing the Notice

The notice must be signed and dated, in particular, prescribed forms.

Where there are joint landlords, the notice may be signed by one acting on behalf of all landlords, or all landlords can sign it. It's essential to check the wording of the signature part of the notice and follow what it says.

The signature can be a digital signature and does not have to be a wet signature.

When signed, the date on the notice must be the date you intend to serve the notice. For example, if you want to post a notice tomorrow, put tomorrow's date, not today.

An agent can serve and sign a notice on behalf of a landlord client if they have the landlord's authority. There is usually a box to tick for prescribed forms confirming if an agent is signing.

If the landlord or agent is a company, the notice can be signed by someone acting under authority from the company Northwood (Solihull) Ltd v Fearn & Ors [2022] EWCA Civ 40.

If a document is to be delivered electronically, it must have the certified electronic signature of each person by whom it is required to be signed or executed (s.236(4)).

An electronic signature is certified if the person (whether before or after the communication) has made a statement confirming that-

  • the signature,
  • a means of producing, communicating or verifying the signature or
  • a procedure applied to the signature,

is (either alone or in combination with other factors) a valid means of signing (s.7(3) Electronic Communications Act 2000).

To establish a willingness to receive electronically, a term in the contract will be a willingness. It may also be shown as willingness if there's been previous regular communication, such as email, text message, or communication apps. But note the words "willingness to receive the document" (emphasis on "the"). Just because there's been a willingness to discuss repairs over a communication app doesn't necessarily mean a willingness to receive a notice that way.

Covering letter with notice

You shouldn't put a cover letter with any notice.

A covering letter may, in certain circumstances, be read in conjunction with the notice and therefore invalidate it Mundy v Hook County Court (Bromley) [1997] C.L.Y. 3246.

The notice will explain what it's about, so there's usually no need for a cover letter.

Service and delivery of the notice

The occupation contract may specify the method and manner by which notices may be served. The notice may not be deemed appropriately delivered if the landlord fails to follow the required procedure. You should, therefore, follow any specified method in the agreement.

At a minimum, you should post the notice and get a free-of-charge "certificate of postage" available from any post office. Recorded delivery is not usually suitable (unless there's a term in the contract) because if nobody signs for the notice, that will be evidence that the tenant did not receive it.

The proof of postage can be used as evidence that it was delivered in court forms or elsewhere.

If the occupation contract allows delivery of notices electronically, you can also send a copy of the notice by email per the term.

In addition, you may also hand deliver the notice. Ideally, photograph the envelope in the letterbox of the front door. Use a smartphone to record the photograph's time, date and GPS location. A witness is optional as it can be inconvenient for them to confirm the delivery in court if needed.

Getting the contract holder to sign a copy as received or another receipt is excellent, as it removes all arguments about whether they received the notice. Still, it is accepted that this is only sometimes possible, especially if the contract holder is uncooperative.

Sending a notice using products like DocuSign or Signable isn't generally suitable or advised. Those products are designed for an agreement, such as an occupation contract. Typically, they include a disclaimer that the document will be deemed agreed upon when all parties have signed. As a notice isn't usually an agreement, if the contract holder failed to sign via the service, it could be argued it has yet to be delivered or accepted.

A notice or document may be delivered personally to the person or left at or posted to one of the following addresses-

  • the person's last known residence or place of business,
  • any place specified by the person as a place where the person may be given notifications or documents, or
  • if the person is a contract-holder, the dwelling for the occupation contract.

If a notice or document is left at any of those places, it's treated as given when it was left (s.237(6)).

A notice or document may also be delivered electronically but only if--

  • the person has indicated a willingness to receive the notification or document electronically,
  • the person gets the text in legible form and
  • the text is capable of being used for subsequent reference.

Note: the word "text" above does not mean an SMS text sent by a mobile phone specifically; it means the text contained in the electronic document (for example, if a document has been scanned, the text mustn't be blurred).

Also, care should be taken if relying wholly on email for delivering a notice. Although there's no requirement to show a notice was read, it will be for the person to show they gave it. Email providers can easily misread an email with an attachment (such as a notice) as spam/junk, so the contract-holder may not see the message. We would always advise a printed copy is also sent by ordinary post with proof of postage.

You may give a notice or document to a body corporate by providing it to the secretary or clerk (s.237(5)).

Serving Notices and Documents to Joint Tenants

  • Single notice, all names.

One copy of the notice or document, addressed to every joint contract holder by name and delivered to the rental property (or each contract holder's last-known address), will usually satisfy service requirements. Shelter's professional guidance confirms that a single communication addressed to all joint tenants is "arguably sufficient" for statutory documents such as the tenancy-deposit prescribed information.

  • Keep copies and proof of postage.

Put all joint contract holders' names on the envelope and on the notice heading ("To A Smith, B Jones and C Brown, 12 High Street ...").

Obtain a free certificate of posting or, if hand-delivered, photograph the envelope half-inserted through the letterbox.

  • Email service.

If the tenancy agreement allows notices by email, send the notice to each email address you hold for the joint tenants, or at least to an agreed lead-tenant email address, and keep the sent-items record.

  • Absent co-contract holder.

If you know that a joint contract holder has moved elsewhere, post a duplicate to their last-known address as a belt-and-braces safeguard.

  • No explicit clause?

Adding a contractual deeming clause — "service on any one joint contract holder is service on them all" — removes any doubt and mirrors the Court of Appeal's approval of service clauses in Khan v D'Aubigny [2025].

  • The ideal.

For documents required before or when the occupation contract starts, like the EPC, gas safety record, deposit prescribed information and the electrical installation condition report (EICR), ensure all the documents are attached to the occupation contract and use digital signing. This sends a copy to each individual party to the contract, who will each sign, and once completed, all parties will automatically receive the full contract and documents, avoiding any doubt that each party received all the documents.

For notices and documents mid-tenancy, ensure you have a quality service clause that outlines when it is deemed delivered for each allowed mechanism for service (email, post, hand delivery), and a term about service on one being service on all, as mentioned earlier. Furthermore, even if you have a quality term, you may also serve a duplicate of the notice on each individual named contract holder in a separate envelope and to their respective emails.

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