Housing is devolved. Most UK landlord advice is written in England, for England, and served to Welsh landlords without a word of warning — which is how a Welsh landlord ends up serving a How to Rent guide that has no standing, or an English landlord with a Welsh property serves a section 21 notice that no longer exists.
This is every point of divergence we track, each side cited to its own Act. It is the reference the rest of this cluster hangs off.
The divergence table
| Subject | England | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Governing statute | Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 | Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, in force 1 December 2022 |
| What the occupier is called | Tenant, on an assured tenancy | Contract-holder, on an occupation contract |
| No-fault possession | Abolished. Section 21 ended 1 May 2026 | Retained. Section 173, six months’ notice, none in the first six months |
| The core document | Tenancy agreement, plus How to Rent, plus the RRA information sheet | Written statement of the occupation contract, within 14 days |
| Late core document | Blocks possession on some grounds | Compensation of a day’s rent per day of delay, capped |
| Landlord registration | PRS Database, under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 | Rent Smart Wales, since 2015, Housing (Wales) Act 2014 Part 1 |
| Selective licensing | Widely used, council by council, Housing Act 2004 s.80 | Legally available, 0 confirmed schemes |
| Additional HMO licensing | Council by council, Housing Act 2004 s.56 | Same Act, and 10 of 22 councils operate one |
| Mandatory HMO licensing | Housing Act 2004, national | Same Act, same test, all 22 councils |
| Deposit protection | Housing Act 2004 ss.213–215, 30 days | Same sections, same 30 days |
| Deposit cap | 5 weeks’ rent under £50k, 6 weeks at or above. Tenant Fees Act 2019 | No security deposit cap. Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 |
| Fitness standard | HHSRS, applied by the council | Implied contract term, s.91, judged against 29 matters |
| EICR | Standalone regulations, £30,000 civil penalty | A condition of fitness under the 2022 Regulations |
| Alarms | Standalone regulations, £5,000 penalty | A condition of fitness: interlinked, mains-wired |
| Awaab’s Law | Extended to the PRS by the RRA 2025, fixed timescales | Does not apply. No Welsh equivalent |
| Right to Rent | Immigration Act 2014, applies | Does not apply |
| Pets | Right to request, s.16A, silence treated as unreasonable refusal | No equivalent statutory right to request |
| Ombudsman | PRS Landlord Ombudsman, mandatory under the RRA 2025 | No equivalent PRS ombudsman scheme |
The three that catch people out most
1. Section 21 is gone in England, section 173 is not gone in Wales
The single sharpest divergence, and it runs in both directions. English landlords with Welsh property believe they have lost a route they still have; Welsh landlords with English property serve a notice that no longer exists. Section 173 notices in Wales.
2. The document is different, and so is the penalty for being late
England: agreement, How to Rent, information sheet, and lateness blocks possession. Wales: one written statement, 14 days, and lateness costs a day’s rent per day. The written statement in Wales.
3. Registration is national in Wales and always has been
England’s PRS Database is new. Rent Smart Wales has registered every Welsh landlord since 2015 — and licensed the ones who self-manage, which the English database does not do. It is also the most likely reason Wales has no selective licensing.
What is the same
Worth stating, because the differences get all the attention:
- HMO licensing — Parts 2 and 3 of the Housing Act 2004 apply in both, unchanged.
- Deposit protection mechanics — same sections, same schemes, same 30 days.
- Gas safety — the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 apply in both.
- EPC minimum standards — the MEES regime applies in both.
- Unlimited fines — LASPO 2012 s.85 extends to England and Wales, so the stale maxima printed on legislation.gov.uk are wrong in both countries.
The rule to work from
Never assume a UK-wide article covers Wales. Almost none do, and the ones that mention it usually add a sentence rather than a jurisdiction. If a piece of advice does not name the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 or the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, it is English advice, whatever its title says.
We hold all 22 Welsh councils. Each page carries what we have established and says so where we have not. Browse the database.
Information tool, not legal advice.