Senedd research service cites NRLA influence and renews call for housing survey
Calls for a Welsh Housing survey have intensified after a Senedd research blog cited the NRLA as a continuing and driving influence.
The NRLA has consistently campaigned for a survey of housing in Wales, similar to the English Housing Survey that has run annually in England since 1967.
In sharp contrast, the last Welsh Housing Conditions survey was carried out in 2017/18.
The blog, entitled “Everything we don’t know about housing in Wales”, was published by the Senedd’s research service, which provides impartial research to Members of the Senedd and is not politically affiliated.
The blog states: “a running theme in housing-related Committee inquiries is that in comparison with other UK nations, Wales lacks data.”
Yet, as recently as April, former Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, Julie James MS, described an annual housing survey as ‘too expensive.’
NRLA campaigning to address the shortage of housing data in Wales
The failure to conduct regular surveys has led to a data shortage when seeking to understand the private rented sector in Wales.
Reliance on evidence from England is also troubling, with the Renting Homes (Wales) Act approaching its second year of implementation, when the regime diverged markedly from that in England.
The NRLA first mooted the creation of a Welsh Housing survey back in 2020.
More recently, calls for such a survey were made by the NRLA’s Wales Operations Manager Steven Bletsoe, when he gave evidence on the private rented sector to the Local Government, Housing and Communities Committee back in March.
Steve said that the Welsh Government needs to have accurate data on the housing market, especially the PRS, to make informed policy decisions.
Others who gave evidence alongside Steve at the time, including Richard Rowntree of Paragon Bank, made a similar call for more and better data, to give added confidence to lenders to support private rented sector investment.
How a survey would help
The NRLA is campaigning for a Welsh housing survey because the association believes it will help inform future housing policy and energy efficiency decisions.
While there has been no survey of conditions in the Welsh housing market for six years, the private rented sector has changed considerably with the introduction of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act, increased demand for homes across all tenures, as well as short-term holiday lets.
A regular housing survey would capture valuable information and enable policymakers to answer some fundamental questions, such as how big the private rented sector is and how satisfied contract holders are, avoiding the need to rely on anecdotal evidence.
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