Mark Isherwood MS – the Shadow Minister for Local Government and Housing – has welcomed a proposal from the National Residential Landlords’ Association (NRLA) Wales for a housing survey in Wales.
NRLA launched its campaign for political parties to commit to expanding the evidence base for housing by introducing a Welsh Housing Survey (WHS).
The call comes as the Welsh Parliament is in the process of passing its fourth Bill affecting the private rented sector in six years without any comprehensive, government-commissioned data set for housing to support good policy making.
Mr Isherwood said:
“NRLA argues that the long-running English Housing Survey (EHS), in place since 1967, is an aspirational model due to the volume of data it collects. Adopting a similar model for Wales would allow for greater comparability and accountability between the nations.”
The NRLA call for a survey has been backed by other prominent housing bodies: the Chartered Institute for Housing, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors, Tai Pawb, and ARLA-Propertymark.
The campaign has also been backed by Homes for All Cymru, an alliance of housing and housing related organisations in Wales, which includes Shelter and Crisis among their members, said Mr Isherwood, who added:
“A Welsh Conservative Government would introduce a Welsh Housing Survey to provide more robust data for policy makers on housing demand and housing standards. It would also replace ‘no-fault evictions’ to provide greater security of tenure for tenants, whilst ensuring fairness for the rental sector.”
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