The right to adequate housing in Wales: cost-benefit analysis
Sep 2022
Summary:
Alma Economics was commissioned by Tai Pawb, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Cymru and Shelter Cymru as part of the Back the Bill campaign to explore the costs and benefits of progressively introducing the RTAH in Wales. This research is the second part of a two-phased project and builds on the findings from the first phase that focused on evidence on the impact of safe, secure, affordable and adequate housing on key outcomes such as health, wellbeing, productivity and crime, and case studies of introducing similar rights to housing and policies in other countries, including cases in Finland, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, France, Spain and South Africa.
The findings in the Phase 1 report concluded that, whilst most of the case study countries have already gone further than Wales in terms of their passed legislation and future law-making ambitions, there were areas for improvement in all the case studies. This provides an opportunity for Wales to use lessons learnt to become an international exemplar in establishing and realising the RTAH.
In this study, building on the available evidence and discussions with sector experts, we developed a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) framework that links the costs of introducing the RTAH in Wales to the socio-economic benefits flowing from this intervention. Our approach is based on standard practice outlined in HM Treasury guidance on policy appraisal, which is the relevant CBA guidance followed by the Welsh Government.
Research Area: Homelessness, Housing, Human rights, People's rights, poverty, Renting, Social housing
Supported/funded by: Alma Economics, Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru, Tai Pawb
Type of publication: Report
Keywords: human rights, rights
