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91% of Welsh social homes meet Housing Quality Standard
More than nine in 10 social homes in Wales now meet the Welsh Government’s Housing Quality Standard.
Official figures released yesterday show that at the end of March 2018, 91% of homes owned by housing associations and councils in the country – or 204,468 units – complied with the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS), up from 86% last year.
Housing associations achieved 99% compliance in their stock, while councils reached 77%.
These figures include acceptable fails, which means a home failed on an element which could not feasibly be completed by the landlord because of prohibitive costs, physical obstacles or because residents refused the work.
Excluding acceptable fails, 63% of social homes were fully compliant with the WHQS.
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The WHQS measures homes on 42 factors covering state of repair, fuel efficiency, and kitchen and bathroom facilities among other categories.
The Welsh Government has a target to reach 100% WHQS compliance by 2020, with £108m available to social landlords each year for improving their stock.
Rebecca Evans, Welsh housing and regeneration minister, said: “I am clear that there is more to do, but these figures show our investment is paying off.
“Good-quality housing is a Welsh Government priority because it is crucial to our health and well-being.
“Public Health Wales’ work tells us that poor housing costs the NHS £67m a year, so this investment is an investment in people’s health, an investment to tackle fuel poverty and an investment to improve people’s lives.”
She said she expects councils and housing associations to meet the target by 2020.
Matt Dicks, director of the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru, said: “Today’s announcement that 91% of social housing now meets the WHQS in Wales is testament to the hard work of social housing providers investing in the quality of their homes.
“Whilst we welcome this achievement we must remain minded that the WHQS requires ongoing investment to maintain, let alone achieve.”
