Joint statement from ‘Back the Bill’ campaign – the Right to a Good Home in Wales
29 July 2025
The campaign, comprising of Tai Pawb, CIH Cymru and Shelter Cymru, notes the recent publication of the responses to the White Paper consultation on Housing adequacy in Wales including Welsh Government response. While we welcome the proposals for a National Housing Strategy for Wales, our overall feeling is one of disappointment.
The Programme for Government committed to “a White Paper to include proposals for a right to adequate housing including fair rents and new approaches to making homes affordable for those on local incomes”. Sadly, as highlighted by some respondents, this White Paper lacked any reference to a ‘right’‘ to housing. Housing as a human right will drive the funding and resources required by returning housing to a fundamental mission of government in the same way the creation of the NHS here in Wales improved the health of the nation.
And this is not a minority view.
A YouGov poll in 2020 commissioned by CIH Cymru found that over three-quarters (77%) of people in Wales supported a legal right to housing, as do 75% of Housing Associations CEO’s in Wales currently. In October 2024, there was a historic vote in the Senedd where representatives from parties spoke positively about making housing a legal right in Wales.
Wales is in the midst of a housing crisis, but it doesn’t need to be this way. Independent Cost-Benefit analysis shows that if Wales had incorporated housing as a human right 6 years ago, we’d already be starting to save money. Instead, there are over 90,000 households on social housing waiting lists and over 10,000 people in Temporary Accommodation.
An appetite and ambition for change exists – we will continue to work with all partners to achieve it.
For more information on Back the Bill, see campaign page.