Houses owned by housing associations and local authorities have to be in good condition as part of the housing quality standard.
All social housing must be maintained and kept in good condition. Housing associations and local authorities with social rented homes are responsible for meeting and maintaining homes to the housing quality standard.
We are looking to introduce a new and improved Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) this year. A public consultation on proposals for an update to WHQS ran until August 2022. A summary of responses to the consultation is now available to view.
The new WHQS 2023 is expected to be finalised and launched by the Minister for Climate Change in Autumn 2023.
The deadline for achieving the current WHQS was the end of December 2020, with a small number of social landlords being granted an extension to December 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For social landlords to meet the standard, houses must be:
- in a good state of repair
- safe and secure
- adequately heated, fuel efficient and well insulated
- fitted with up-to-date kitchens and bathrooms
- well managed (for rented housing)
- located in attractive and safe environments
- where possible, suitable for the specific needs of those living there, such as those with disabilities
We administer two funds to help housing associations and local authorities with their social housing stock:
- Major repairs allowance
- Dowry gap funding
Major repairs allowance
We give funding to the 11 local authorities who continue to manage and maintain social housing.
Funding 2023 to 2024
- Caerphilly £7,300,000
- Cardiff £9,570,000
- Carmarthenshire £6,200,000
- Denbighshire £2,370,000
- Flintshire £4,980,000
- Isle of Anglesey £2,690,000
- Pembrokeshire £4,000,000
- Powys £3,720,000
- Swansea £9,280,000
- Vale of Glamorgan £2,770,000
- Wrexham £7,520,000
Dowry gap funding
We give funding to 10 housing associations to help them improve their social housing. These housing associations were formed when local authorities transferred their responsibility for social housing across to these organisations.
Funding 2023 to 2024
- Trivallis (formerly RCT Homes) £7,300,000
- Newport City Homes £6,500,000
- Tai Tarian (formerly NPT Homes) £6,200,000
- Bron Afon Community Housing £5,800,000
- Tai Calon £4,200,000
- Adra (formerly Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd) £4,100,000
- Merthyr Valleys Homes £2,900,000
- Cartrefi Conwy £2,600,000
- Monmouthshire Housing Association £2,600,000
- Barcud £1,600,000