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Housing (Wales) Act 2014 may have wider implications for UK policies on homelessness (24 August 2015)

Date: 24/08/2015
Duncan Lewis, Housing Solicitors, Housing (Wales) Act 2014 may have wider implications for UK policies on homelessness

The findings of a state-of-the nation report in Wales – The Homelessness Monitor: Wales 2015 – has found that welfare reforms and cuts introduced by the UK government could undermine any progress achieved in supporting homeless people in Wales.

Social housing publisher 24Dash.com reports that the independent study commissioned and funded by the charity Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation – analyses the impact of economic and policy developments on homelessness in Wales.

The report says that the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 has “ushered in major changes”, by placing a much stronger legal emphasis on prevention and relief for anyone at risk of or facing homelessness.

Councils in England in particular have “much weaker legal duties”, the report says – meaning people are frequently refused help at a time when homelessness could be prevented.

However, the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill currently before the Welsh Assembly could also “significantly weaken” the security of Welsh renters, by removing the protection they have against “no fault” eviction in the first six months of a tenancy. If the Bill were passed, Wales would be left with the most insecure tenancies in the UK.

Wales is the first country in the UK to offer more support to prevent homelessness, however – and the move has been welcomed by the charity Crisis.

The report also highlights a continuing fall in the numbers of households accepted as homeless in Wales – with the total in 2014-2015 an estimated 8% lower than the previous record low in 2009-2010.

However, the report suggests that the recent decline in homelessness in Wales is most likely due to local councils preparing for the new prevention-focused regime, rather than an actual reduction in the demand for help with homelessness.

The rate of homelessness (3.9 per thousand households) remains more than 70% higher than in England (2.3 per thousand), the report says.

Chief executive of Crisis, Jon Sparkes, said:

“By enacting the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, the Welsh government has set an example for the rest of the UK.

“Too often, people facing homelessness – particularly in England – are turned away from help by their council because there’s no legal duty for their homelessness to be prevented.

“This legislation means that Welsh councils must now offer real support to anyone facing homelessness – this is a major step forward.

“Yet there are still big challenges ahead – we’re particularly worried about the Renting Homes Bill, which will leave people with far less security of tenure, while welfare reforms are hitting parts of Wales particularly hard.”

Chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Julia Unwin, added:

“Shifting the emphasis toward preventing homelessness is the right thing to do – but we’re concerned that the growing number of people in Wales who rent their home privately face having even less security.”

Lead author of the report, Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick, said:

“It’s a critical time to be looking at homelessness policy in Wales – while it’s too early to assess the practical impact of these new duties, initial indications of cross-sector goodwill and support for the new model are promising.

“We’ll continue to monitor the impact of these changes – particularly their effect on homelessness trends – not just to inform policy and practice in Wales, but to make sure lessons are learned for the UK as a whole.”

Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors

Duncan Lewis housing solicitors are one of the UK’s leading providers of Legal Aid housing advice and can advise social housing tenants on a wide range of housing matters, including:

• Disrepair of rented property
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• Housing Benefit
• Housing fraud
• Local Authority housing
• Local council’s obligation to rehouse (Section 193)
• Nuisance neighbours
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• Tenancy agreements
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For expert legal advice on housing law, call Duncan Lewis housing solicitors on 020 7923 4020.


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