Additional funding to improve housing stock

The Welsh Government has announced a further £20 million investment to improve the Welsh housing stock and bring thousands of derelict and inhabitable properties back into use.

We very much welcome this additional funding. We have been campaigning since 2009 for action to bring the vast wasted resource of Wales’s long-term empty properties back into use and the Houses into Homes loan scheme has shown that a great deal can be achieved with a relatively small upfront investment.

The loan scheme for homeowners will be a big help for many people in Wales struggling with poor conditions who are unable to afford to carry out repairs. Wales has some of the oldest and worst housing stock in the UK, with far too many people having to cope with problems such as damp, mould, and excess cold.

These can lead to many health problems, especially for children, which in turn has an impact on the health service. It’s estimated that health problems associated with poor housing cost the NHS around £67m every year in treatment costs alone.