Moving to Cardiff From London

Buying a home in Wales means Land Transaction Tax, not Stamp Duty Land Tax. For a main home bought on or after 10 October 2022 the rates are 0% on the portion of the price up to £225,000, 6% from £225,000 to £400,000, 7.5% to £750,000, 10% to £1.5 million and 12% above that. On a £280,000 Cardiff house that comes to £3,300.

There is no first-time buyer relief in Wales. Buying while you still own another home can bring in the higher rates, which since 11 December 2024 run from 5% on the first £180,000 up to 17% above £1.5 million, though they may not apply if you are replacing your main home. The bands are on the Welsh Government's LTT rates page.

Welsh council tax has nine bands, A to I, based on what a property was worth on 1 April 2003. Cardiff's Band D for 2026-27 is £2,013, the lowest of any Welsh council, against a Welsh average of £2,283. The Welsh Government warns that Band D should not be compared between countries because the banding systems differ, so do not hold it up against a London borough's bill.

The bands were due to be revalued, but on 20 October 2026 the Welsh Government said it would bring forward legislation to defer the revaluation until the next Senedd term. Its research estimated that around a quarter of households would have moved up a band and a quarter down. For now the 2003 values stand.

The ONS puts the average Cardiff house price at £272,000 in July 2026, up 2.7% on a year earlier, against £569,000 in London, which was £19,000 below its July 2025 peak. Average private rent in Cardiff was £1,177 a month in August 2026, against £2,332 in London.

By type, Cardiff flats and maisonettes averaged £161,000 and terraced houses £262,000. By size, rents averaged £908 for one bedroom, £1,085 for two and £1,211 for three. The local figures are on the ONS Cardiff housing page.

Since 1 December 2022 rented homes in Wales have been let on occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and tenants are contract-holders. England's 2026 renting changes do not apply. Every private landlord must register with Rent Smart Wales, which Cardiff Council runs as the licensing authority for the whole of Wales, and you can check a landlord or a property on its public register before you sign.

Leaving a Welsh rental later on takes four weeks' notice in writing on a periodic contract, rather than the up to two months an English landlord can now ask for.

Prescriptions have been free in Wales since 1 April 2007. The Welsh Government says anyone registered with a GP in Wales is entitled to free prescriptions from a pharmacist in Wales, so registering with a Cardiff GP is worth doing in the first week.

Wales made 20mph the default on restricted roads from 17 September 2023. In August 2026 Cardiff said sections of Newport Road and Western Avenue, Ocean Way and Hadfield Road would go back to 30mph, while the vast majority of its 20mph roads stay. At the 2021 census 74% of Cardiff households had a car or van.

Two big projects are under way. Work on the first phase of Cardiff Crossrail, a tram-train route from Cardiff Central to Cardiff Bay backed by £100 million of Welsh and UK government funding, started on 15 June 2026. A £140 million revamp of Cardiff Central was approved in December 2025, with the station staying open during the works. If your first Cardiff home is an apartment in Cardiff Bay, the new line is being built to serve it.

The van is the simplest part. We price Cardiff to London by load and mileage, the same in either direction, and the London end, with its controlled parking and charges, takes more planning than the Cardiff one. Give us both addresses early so the parking at each end is sorted before the day.