A safe, secure and affordable home is a basic human right. Housing policy in Wales must serve the needs of people and communities—not the profits of landlords, developers and financial institutions. The priority must be to eliminate substandard housing, overcrowding, unfair rents and homelessness.
Position outline
Protecting Welsh-Speaking Communities
The housing crisis also threatens the future of the Welsh language, particularly in the north and west where Welsh-speaking communities are strongest. The growth of second homes and holiday properties pushes house prices beyond the reach of local people. Young people are forced to move away from their communities, weakening Welsh as a living community language and contributing to the decline of Welsh-medium schools.
A New Approach to Housing
To tackle the crisis, Wales needs a major programme of housing reform:
- Implement a major council and social housing building programme.
- Regenerate run-down council estates
- End the sale of public land to private developers
- Use Compulsory Purchase Orders to bring land into public use
- Tax empty properties and vacant land more heavily
- Ensure housing in Welsh-speaking areas meets local needs
- Establish national and local housing finance institutions to support public housing
Fair Housing for All
Housing must be secure and fair for everyone. This means:
- Bringing social housing back under direct local authority control
- Providing affordable sheltered housing and care for older people
- Giving local authorities a legal duty to house all homeless households
- Repealing the Bedroom Tax
- Restoring full housing benefit for under-35s
- Capping private rents in line with local conditions
- Strengthening tenants’ rights and community control
A housing system based on public need rather than private profit can ensure that everyone in Wales has a secure home while protecting communities and safeguarding the Welsh language for future generations.
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Published on behalf of the Communist Party, CPB Top Floor, Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Road, Croydon CR0 1BD.