Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Act 2026

Prospective

(introduced by section 41)

SCHEDULE E+W MINOR AND CONSEQUENTIAL PROVISION

Housing Act 1996 (c. 52) E+W

1 (1) The Housing Act 1996 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 160(4) (cases to which provisions about allocation do not apply)—

(a) the words “in such other cases as the Secretary of State may prescribe by regulations.” become paragraph (a);

(b) at the beginning of paragraph (a) insert “in relation to England,”;

(c) after paragraph (a), insert—

“(b) in relation to Wales, in such other cases as the Welsh Ministers may prescribe by regulations.”

(3) In section 160A (allocation to eligible persons: Wales)—

(a) in subsection (3), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Welsh Ministers”;

(b) in subsection (5), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Welsh Ministers”.

(4) In section 167 (allocation in accordance with allocation scheme: Wales)—

(a) in subsection (2), in paragraph (b) omit “, 73”;

(b) in subsection (3), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Welsh Ministers”;

(c) in subsection (4), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Welsh Ministers”;

(d) in subsection (5), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Welsh Ministers”.

(5) In section 169 (guidance)—

(a) in subsection (1) after “local housing authorities” insert “in England”;

(b) after subsection (1) insert—

“(1A) In the exercise of their functions under this Part, local housing authorities in Wales shall have regard to such guidance as may from time to time be given by the Welsh Ministers.”;

(c) in subsection (2), after “Secretary of State” insert “and the Welsh Ministers”;

(d) in the heading, after “Secretary of State” insert “and the Welsh Ministers”.

(6) In section 172 (regulations)—

(a) in subsection (1), after “Regulations” insert “made by the Secretary of State”;

(b) after subsection (1) insert—

“(1A) Regulations made by the Welsh Ministers under this Part shall be made by Welsh statutory instrument.”;

(c) in subsection (2)—

(i) omit “or 167(3)”;

(ii) after “allocating housing accommodation” insert “in England”;

(d) after subsection (2) insert—

“(2A) Regulations made under section 160B(3) (circumstances in which the duty in section 160B(2) does not apply), section 160D(1) (common housing register), section 160E(2) (accessible housing register) or section 167(3) (regulations amending provisions about priorities in allocating housing accommodation in Wales) are subject to the Senedd approval procedure.”;

(e) in subsection (3), after “regulations” insert “made by the Secretary of State”;

(f) after subsection (3) insert—

“(3A) Any other regulations made by the Welsh Ministers under this Part are subject to the Senedd annulment procedure.”;

(g) in subsection (4), after “Secretary of State” insert “or the Welsh Ministers (as the case may be)”.

(7) In section 174 (index of defined expressions), in the appropriate place, insert—

“common housing register

section 160B”

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. para. 1 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 43(2)

Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (anaw 4) E+W

2 (1) The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 is amended as follows.

(2) In Schedule 2, in the table, for the entry for the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 substitute—

“Housing (Wales) Act 2014
Section 94A, so far as it relates to the functions of a specified person by virtue of section 94B(1)(a);	Duty to ask whether a person is homeless or threatened with homelessness and duty to act where a person is homeless or threatened with homelessness;
Section 95, so far as it relates to other social services functions.	Co-operation and information sharing in relation to homeless persons and persons threatened with homelessness.”

Commencement Information

I2 Sch. para. 2 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 43(2)

Housing (Wales) Act 2014 (anaw 7) E+W

3 (1) The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 53 (overview)—

(a) after subsection (6) insert—

“(6A) Section 63A requires local housing authorities to prepare and maintain a prevention, support and accommodation plan for applicants who are owed duties under this Chapter, and section 63B makes provision about reviewing such plans.”;

(b) in subsection (7) omit “; and section 65 explains what “help to secure” means”;

(c) in subsection (8)—

(i) in paragraph (b), for “for applicants in priority need” to the end substitute “(section 68)”;

(ii) omit paragraph (c);

(iii) in paragraph (d), omit “for applicants in priority need when the duty in section 73 comes to an end”;

(d) omit subsection (9).

(3) In section 56 (meaning of accommodation available for occupation)—

(a) in subsection (1), for “together with” to the end substitute “together with any other members of the person’s household”;

(b) after subsection (1) insert—

“(1A) A reference in this Chapter to a member of a person’s household is a reference to—

(a) a person who normally resides with that person as a member of that person’s family, or

(b) any other person who might reasonably be expected to reside with that person.”;

(c) in the heading, after “occupation” insert “and member of household”.

(4) In section 57 (whether it is reasonable to continue to occupy accommodation), omit subsection (2).

(5) In section 62(5) (duty to assess)—

(a) in paragraph (b), for “person with whom the applicant lives or might reasonably be expected to live” substitute “member of the applicant’s household”;

(b) in paragraph (c), for “person with whom the applicant lives or might reasonably be expected to live” substitute “member of the applicant’s household”.

(6) In section 63 (notice of outcome of assessment)—

(a) omit subsection (3);

(b) in subsection (4), for “, (1) or (3)” substitute “or (1)”.

(7) In section 76 (circumstances in which the duty in section 75 ends)—

(a) in subsection (4)(a)(ii), for “assured shorthold tenancy” substitute “assured tenancy (including an assured shorthold tenancy)”;

(b) omit subsection (6).

(8) In section 79(1) (further circumstances in which the duties to help applicants end), omit “, 73”.

(9) In section 80(3) (referral of case to another local housing authority)—

(a) in paragraph (a), for “person who might reasonably be expected to reside with the applicant” substitute “member of the applicant’s household”;

(b) in paragraph (b), for “person who might reasonably be expected to reside with the applicant” substitute “member of the applicant’s household”.

(10) In section 81(local connection)—

(a) in subsection (2), after “England” insert “or any other area”;

(b) in subsection (3), for “person who might reasonably be expected to reside with that person” substitute “member of that person’s household”.

(11) In section 84 (notice that duties have ended)—

(a) in subsection (1), omit “, 73”;

(b) omit subsection (2).

(12) In section 86(6) (procedure on review), in the English text, after “not” insert “to”.

(13) Omit section 87 (effect of a decision on review or appeal that reasonable steps were not taken).

(14) In section 91(3)(b) (out-of-area placement), for “persons who normally” to the end substitute “members of the applicant’s household,”.

(15) In section 93 (protection of property)—

(a) in subsection (2)—

(i) in the entry for section 66, omit “in the case of an applicant in priority need”;

(ii) in the entry for section 68, omit “for homeless applicants in priority need”;

(iii) in the entry for section 75, omit “for applicants in priority need when the duty in section 73 ends”;

(iv) in the entry for section 82, omit “in the case of an applicant in priority need”;

(b) in subsection (6), for “person who might reasonably be expected to reside with the applicant” substitute “member of the applicant’s household”.

(16) In section 94(10), for “person who might reasonably be expected to reside with the applicant” substitute “member of the applicant’s household”.

(17) In section 96 (co-operation in certain cases involving children)—

(a) in subsection (1), for “an applicant with whom a person under the age of 18 normally resides, or might reasonably be expected to reside” substitute “a member of an applicant’s household is under the age of 18 and that the applicant”;

(b) in subsection (1)(b), omit “, 73”;

(c) in subsection (4), omit “became homeless intentionally or became threatened with homelessness intentionally,”.

(18) In section 98(3)(a) (guidance), after “guidance” insert “under this Part”.

(19) In section 99 (interpretation of Chapter 2 of Part 2 and index of defined terms)—

(a) in the appropriate places insert—

• ““appropriate Minister” (“Gweinidog priodol”) has the meaning given by paragraph 8(5) of Schedule 7B to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32);”;

• ““approved premises” (“mangre a gymeradwywyd”) has the meaning given by section 13 of the Offender Management Act 2007 (c. 21);”;

• ““contracted out prison” (“carchar ar gontract”) has the meaning given by section 84(4) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (c. 53);”;

• ““contracted out secure training centre” (“canolfan hyfforddi ddiogel ar gontract”) has the meaning given by section 15 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c. 33);”;

• ““housing action trust” (“ymddiriedolaeth gweithredu tai”) means a housing action trust established under Part 3 of the Housing Act 1988 (c. 50);”;

• ““Local Health Board” (“Bwrdd Iechyd Lleol”) means a Local Health Board established under section 11 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 (c. 42);”;

• ““member of the applicant’s household” (“aelod o aelwyd y ceisydd”) (and any similar reference to member of a person’s household) is to be interpreted in accordance with section 56;”;

• ““new town corporation” (“corfforaeth tref newydd”) has the meaning given by Part 1 of the Housing Act 1985 (c. 68);”;

• ““prevention, support and accommodation plan” (“cynllun atal, cefnogaeth a llety”) means a plan required by section 63A;”;

• ““prisoner” (“carcharor”) means a person who is—

  (a)

  serving a custodial sentence within the meaning of section 76 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (c. 6) or section 222 of the Sentencing Code,

  (b)

  remanded in or committed to custody by an order of a court, or

  (c)

  remanded to youth detention accommodation under section 91(4) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c. 10);”;

• ““primary care services” (“gwasanaethau gofal sylfaenol”) means services provided under or by virtue of Parts 4 to 7 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 (c. 42);”;

• ““private registered provider of social housing” (“darparwr tai cymdeithasol preifat cofrestredig”) has the meaning given by Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (c. 17);”;

• ““secure children’s home” (“cartref diogel i blant”) means—

  (a)

  accommodation in Wales in respect of which a person is registered under Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 2) to provide a secure accommodation service within the meaning of Part 1 of that Act.

  (b)

  accommodation that is provided in a children’s home in England, within the meaning of the Care Standards Act 2000 (c. 14)—

  (i)

  which provides accommodation for the purposes of restricting liberty, and

  (ii)

  in respect of which a person is registered under Part 2 of that Act;”;

• ““registered social landlord” (“landlord cymdeithasol cofrestredig”) has the meaning given by Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996 (c. 52);”;

• ““reserved authority” (“awdurdod a gedwir yn ôl”) has the meaning given by paragraph 8(3) of Schedule 7B to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32);”;

• ““specified person” (“person penodedig) means the persons set out in section 94B(1);”;

(b) omit the definitions of “associated”, ”domestic abuse”, “help to secure”, “intentionally homeless”, “looked after, accommodated or fostered” and “priority need for accommodation”;

(c) in the definition of “help under this Chapter”, omit “, 73,”;

(d) in the definition of “youth detention accommodation”, in the Welsh text, for “cartref plant diogel” substitute “cartref diogel i blant”.

(20) In Schedule 2 (eligibility for help under Chapter 2 of Part 2)—

(a) in paragraph 1(1) omit “, 73”;

(b) in paragraph 1(5)—

(i) in paragraph (a), after “homelessness” omit “, or”;

(ii) omit paragraph (b).

Commencement Information

I3 Sch. para. 3 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 43(2)

Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 1) E+W

4 (1) The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 is amended as follows.

(2) In Schedule 2, in paragraph 12(5), in paragraph (a) of the definition of “homelessness housing functions”, omit “73,”.

Commencement Information

I4 Sch. para. 4 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 43(2)