Welsh Homelessness Bill set to become law

The Welsh homelessness bill has cleared the final stages of legislative scrutiny and is now set to become law. Public affairs officer Joshua Helm-Cowley explains more.

Tio give it its full name, The Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill has now completed its journey through the Senedd, and is now awaiting Royal Assent.

We gave evidence on the bill, welcoming its intention but warning that without clear guidance and funding the legislation could create more problems than it solves.

Shortfall

We remain concerned about the shortfall of homes in the Wesh private rented sector and how this will affect implementation of the Bill once it becomes law. 

Crucially, the fact that the central provisions around extensive homelessness support will only be implemented once there is a “robust” supply of housing. 

I don’t need to tell you that at a time of supply crisis the prospect of there being a “robust” supply of housing in the near future is slim at best; raising the question of when, if ever, the Bill will actually be implemented. 

Not least as the Welsh Government has not set out what a “robust” supply of housing means or how they plan to address the housing crisis. 

Local authorities remain in the dark as to when these new responsibilities will apply and landlords are in the dark as to when tenants may be eligible for greater support.

Risks

Building on from this issue of supply, we also remain concerned around the potential for misinterpretation and misapplication of the Bill’s welcome homelessness prevention measures.

With this Bill fundamentally changing the way homelessness prevention services operate in Wales, there is a desperate need for clear guidance to be issued to local authorities as to who is covered by the Bill, what support they are eligible for and what the local authority’s new responsibilities look like in practice. 

Having cleared the necessary scrutiny in the Senedd, we now await Royal Assent to be granted for the Bill to become law something that, with the elections on the 7th May, and the final day of Senedd business on the 27th March,  is likely to be sooner rather than later.

We will continue to engage with Government regarding our concerns ahead of implementation.