Diolch, Llywydd. These regulations form part of a wider set of statutory instruments that I am laying to support the implementation of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. Members will be aware from my written statement last month that the Welsh Government's intention is that all of the provisions of the Act will be commenced in July of this year. To enable this to happen, a number of statutory instruments will be required to support the day-to-day operation of the Act. For example, I have already laid SIs that set out the information that landlords must provide to all contract holders in future, and regulations that will ensure that the accommodation landlords let is fit for human habitation.

The Schedule 9A amendment regulations before us today help to ensure that landlords are meeting their responsibilities with regard to the standard and safety of their properties, and are related to the fitness for human habitation requirements. Schedule 9A to the Act already restricts landlords in certain circumstances from exercising a landlord's break clause in a fixed-term standard contract, or issuing a landlord's notice under section 173 or section 186 of the Act to end a contract where the contract holder is not at fault. An example of one of these circumstances is where the landlord has failed to comply with the statutory requirement to provide the contract holder with a written statement of their occupation contract. 

The Schedule 9A amendment regulations will add four further restrictions on a landlord's ability to issue a landlord's notice or trigger a break clause. These are: if an energy performance certificate has not been provided in relation to the property being let; if hard-wired smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms have not been fitted; or if a valid electrical condition report or a gas safety certificate have not been provided in relation to the property. If a landlord has not met these requirements they will not be able to serve a no-fault notice or trigger a break clause. Our aim in making these regulations is to encourage landlords to meet the important obligations relating to the safety of energy efficiency of the properties they let, and we are seeking to achieve this by restricting any landlord who has not complied with these obligations from being able to issue a no-fault notice to end a contract or to trigger a break clause in a fixed-term contract. This restriction will apply until such time as they have put things right. 

In summary, these regulations should be seen in the context of our overarching aim of improving security of tenure for contract holders who have not breached the terms of their contract, and our wider drive to support the increasing professionalisation of the private rented sector and to provide a safe home for everyone in Wales. I've noted the points raised by the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee in relation to these regulations and have responded to the committee on all of the points raised. I ask Members to approve these regulations today. Diolch.