WIDER POLICIES
Welsh Housing Policy

Key policies:

• The 2004 Housing Act
• Better Homes for People in Wales

It is widely agreed that there is a shortage of affordable rented housing in Wales.  Wales also has a relatively small social housing stock (which is shrinking due to Right To Buy) and a declining rate of new builds in the sector.  House prices have also risen substantially, excluding those who were previously on the margins of home ownership.

Wales is affected by primary legislation passed in Westminster, incluidng the 2004 Housing Act (see English Housing Policy section).  So, for example, the possibility of Empty Dwellings Management Orders applies in Wales as well as in England.

Unlike its English equivalent, the National Housing Strategy for Wales portrays the need for a balance between home ownership and rented accommodation.  In practice, however, it is unclear whether developments in Wales are materially different from those in England.

The National Housing Strategy for Wales

The National Housing Strategy for Wales - Better Homes for People in Wales - appears (on paper) to have a balanced approach to tenure management.  The overarching vision is that "everyone in Wales has the opportunity to live in good quality affordable housing; to be able to choose where they live and decide whether buying or renting is best for them".  It acknowledges that home ownership is generally the tenure of choice (three-quarters of households in Wales are homeowners) but recognises "the need for adequate supply of decent, affordable rented accommodation in the private rented sector and social sector for those at the margins of home ownership".  This is a different tone than in English housing policy, where the focus is mostly on home ownership (see English Housing Policy section). 

In practice, however, it is unclear whether developments in Wales are materially different than those in England.  For example, the same Right to Buy legislation exists and the level of Social Housing Grant over recent years has not increased, despite a commitment to "make high quality social housing available to all who cannot afford to buy", and levels of new builds in this sector are also falling.  The net result is that the social rented sector is now 17% of the total housing stock compared to 21% in 1991.

Page last modified on 06/07/2007 at 10:37