The Welsh Government’s Leasing Scheme Wales provides quality housing solutions and brings empty properties back into use across Wales.
Leasing Scheme Wales offers landlords and owners of empty homes the opportunity to lease their properties to the local authority for between five and 20 years.
The scheme helps to tackle homelessness and supports people moving on from temporary accommodation.
All 22 Local Authorities in Wales are now participating in the scheme, with 430 properties currently signed up across Wales.
Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant, recently visited Wrexham to see first-hand how the scheme is making a difference to property owners and occupiers in the area.
The Cabinet Secretary met with landlords Deri and Julie Rowlands, who have signed up multiple properties to the scheme, bringing homes that would have otherwise remained empty back into use for the community.
She also met with the tenant of one of their properties, Eddie Parsons, who now has a home where he can maintain shared custody arrangements for his child.
The Cabinet Secretary said:
Wrexham is an excellent example of how the Welsh Government’s Leasing Scheme Wales is not only providing housing, but stability and the opportunity for families to stay together. This is exactly what we hoped to achieve when we launched the programme.
We know that empty homes are a wasted resource in our communities and this scheme is a fantastic way of increasing the number of affordable homes, and I look forward to seeing even more property owners and landlords signing up soon.
Councillor David A Bithell, Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for Housing and Climate Change, said:
The leasing scheme is a fantastic way to bring empty homes back into use – providing an important boost to local communities, landlords and tenants. The scheme is having a positive impact in Wrexham and it’s a great example of how local councils and Welsh Government are working together to improve access to homes.