Written Statement: The Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill

The Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill and the associated Explanatory Memorandum are laid today before the Senedd.

Context

The Programme for Government and co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru, set out our commitment to end homelessness, through reform of Welsh housing law.

This Bill builds on the White Paper on Ending Homelessness in Wales, published in 2023. It has been informed by extensive stakeholder engagement, including the recommendations of an Expert Review Panel, and is rooted in the lived-experiences of those who have experienced homelessness.

The Bill sets out how we will transform our approach to homelessness. Alongside our continued investment in social housing, the Bill will help us achieve our long-term ambition to end homelessness in Wales. It places a stronger emphasis on homelessness prevention and removes barriers which have historically served to exclude people from assistance. It strengthens prevention measures for groups most at risk of homelessness such as, care leavers. Recognising a public service response is required to effectively address homelessness, the Bill widens responsibility for the identification and prevention of homelessness to ensure stronger cooperation across Welsh public services. It provides more tools to ensure improved access to good quality, suitable accommodation and ensure social housing is made available to those most in need.

In summary, the Bill:

• Amends the definition of ‘threatened with homelessness’ and extends the prevention period from 56 days, to six months.
• Strengthens the steps taken by local authorities to prevent homelessness.
• Introduces Prevention, Support and Accommodation Plans (PSAP).
• Introduces new rights to request a review for applicants, in relation to decisions taken regarding their case.
• Specifies additional circumstances in which duties can be brought to an end.
• Widens the accommodation options to be considered as a means of relieving homelessness.
• Abolishes the priority need and intentionality tests.
• Introduces a local connection test for the main homelessness duty.
• Introduces a new duty to provide help to retain suitable accommodation.
• Introduces a new duty on specified public authorities to “ask and act” in relation to persons in Wales.
• Places new duties on local authorities to take reasonable steps to secure suitable accommodation is available for occupation for certain young people leaving care.
• Introduces a new duty for local authorities’ co-operation arrangements to include a joint protocol between social services and local housing authorities.
• Requires local housing authorities to make arrangements to promote co-operation between itself and certain other bodies through development of protocols and case co-ordination models.
• Clarifies homelessness duties for those entering and leaving the secure estate.
• Broadens the definition of domestic abuse, bringing it into line with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
• Ensures ongoing engagement with people with lived experience of homelessness.
• Requires local housing authorities to have regard to Part 4 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (condition of dwelling) when determining suitability.
• Requires Welsh Ministers to report periodically on the use and condition of interim accommodation across Wales.
• Enables local authorities to request registered social landlords and private registered providers of social housing (“social landlords”) to make an offer of suitable accommodation in their area for a specific applicant owed the final homelessness duty.
• Requires local housing authorities to take ‘reasonable steps’ to provide an applicant with an opportunity to view the accommodation being offered, before a duty can be ended.
• Provides local authorities with the discretion to decide which classes of person are or are not qualifying persons for social housing in their area, provided they are not ineligible for allocation, and subject to certain constraints on qualification.
• Introduces a test for those who have engaged in ‘deliberate manipulation’ of the homelessness system in order to gain advantage when applying for social housing.
• Creates a sixth category of ‘reasonable preference’ for those to whom local authorities owe duties under section 108A of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
• Requires local housing authorities in Wales to establish and maintain a Common Housing Register and an Accessible Housing Register for their local area.

An Explanatory Memorandum has been completed for this Bill, which includes a Regulatory Impact Assessment. These are available to be considered alongside the Bill.