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Welsh government considers incorporating ‘due regard’ to adequate housing into new laws
The Welsh government is considering introducing ‘due regard’ to the right to adequate housing into upcoming legislation, the housing minister has said.
Speaking at a meeting of the Welsh Assembly’s Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee last week, housing minister Julie James said she is “looking to put what we call a ‘due regard’ to the right to adequate housing” into the forthcoming Local Government (Wales) Bill.
If the government introduces this obligation, local authorities will have to consider the right to adequate housing when making all policy decisions.
This will include prudential borrowing requirements, tenant policies and housing option policies.
Earlier this year, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Cymru, Shelter Cymru and housing equality charity Tai Pawb called on the Welsh government to make housing a legally enforceable human right.
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When asked what a right to adequate housing would look like in practice, Ms James admitted that Wales is “not in a position” to give people a legally enforceable right to housing.
She said: “Supply is the issue, isn’t it? If we put a duty on every local authority to house somebody in… the accommodation they need, they would not be able to fulfil that at this point in time.
“So what we’re looking at is a slide towards that. That’s doable and pushes us in the right direction.”
The Local Government (Wales) Bill is due to be introduced to the Welsh Assembly next month.
In response, John Puzey, director of Shelter Cymru, Alicja Zalesinska, director of Tai Pawb, and Matt Dicks, director of CIH Cymru, issued a statement saying: “We’ve had some very positive discussions with the Welsh government over the proposal to incorporate the right to adequate housing into Welsh law.
“A ‘due regard’ duty on its own isn’t as strong as a duty, which would include an actionable right to adequate housing.
“However, due regard does have the potential to drive positive change, bring more resources into housing and hopefully lead to better outcomes for people facing or experiencing homelessness.”
Simon Hoffman, who wrote a feasibility study on incorporating the right to housing into Welsh law, said: “Incorporation of the right to adequate housing in Wales to promote improvement to housing availability, affordability, suitability and security of tenure is entirely within the competence of Welsh ministers and the National Assembly for Wales.
“Incorporation using due regard would be a very welcome and innovative first step. However, experience and research in Wales and internationally strongly suggests that full protection of any human right is only achieved once people are able to enforce their right at a tribunal or court.”
