Senedd Cymru has enacted the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 1 April 2026. The statute rewrites duties under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 and the Housing Act 1996, shifting Wales to an earlier, prevention‑first model and overhauling social housing allocations.
From 2 April 2026 certain general provisions took effect, with most operational changes commencing by order of Welsh Ministers. If the Act is not fully in force by 31 December 2028 and 31 December 2029, and every two years thereafter, Ministers must publish progress reports. A statutory review of the duty‑to‑refer reforms is due within two years of those provisions being fully commenced, with a broader review of the remaining changes within four years.
The definition of being threatened with homelessness now covers three triggers: receipt of written notice to leave from a person apparently entitled to give it; the issue of possession proceedings; or a risk of homelessness within six months, up from 56 days. Local authorities must treat such notices as valid for prevention purposes regardless of technical defects, ensuring earlier casework.
The prevention duty in section 66 is reframed. Councils must take reasonable steps to help ensure suitable accommodation does not cease to be available, but are not required to secure a Part 6 allocation or provide accommodation at this stage. The separate help‑to‑secure concept in section 65 is repealed, consolidating duties around prevention and, where necessary, duties to accommodate.
Assessments under section 62 must record housing needs, support to retain accommodation and to overcome barriers to independent living, and any communication support the applicant requires. Authorities may decide not to assess, but must notify the reasons. Applicants are entitled to a prevention, support and accommodation plan, setting out the outcome sought, steps for the applicant and the authority, and any actions other public bodies have agreed to take.
Plans must be provided in writing, kept under review at least every eight weeks or on material change, and revised where steps become inappropriate. Authorities must explain review rights and supply copies; notifications can be treated as given if made available for collection for a reasonable period.
Review rights are extended. Applicants may seek a review of eligibility decisions, refusals to assess, assessments of housing and support needs, the content of a plan, whether duties under sections 66, 68, 75 or 76A(2) are owed or have ended, local connection referral decisions, and the suitability of accommodation. Suitability can be challenged before accepting an offer, while it remains open, or-if accepted-within six months of first availability. Reviews must be handled by a senior officer not previously involved, with a further right of appeal to the county court on a point of law.
The Act abolishes the priority need and intentionality tests. Instead, a single duty in new section 75 requires councils to secure suitable accommodation for eligible applicants who are homeless, or who have suitable interim accommodation arranged when they were homeless or threatened with homelessness. For prisoners, the accommodation duty applies when they are released or no longer required to reside in approved premises, and is disapplied where there is no reasonable prospect of release within six months.
The section 75 duty does not apply if neither the applicant nor any household member has a local connection to any Welsh authority and specific abuse‑risk exceptions do not arise outside Wales. A new mechanism allows the duty to end, with the applicant’s informed agreement, where suitable non‑duty accommodation is available for at least 12 months, creating a clearer route to case closure without repeat acceptances.
Interim accommodation under section 68 is triggered where the authority has reason to believe an applicant is homeless and eligible. The duty now also applies where the person has no local connection to any Welsh authority. It ends once a section 75 decision is made, or-if section 75 is refused solely because of the local‑connection rule-after a sufficient period that gives the applicant a reasonable opportunity to secure accommodation themselves.
New section 76A introduces time‑limited sustainment support for households whose accommodation has been retained or secured through the Act. Councils must take reasonable steps to prevent loss of that accommodation for up to 12 months, with clear end points if risk subsides, the person becomes homeless, the period expires, or help is declined. Section 76C requires proactive contact between five and seven months after a section 75 duty ends by consent, to check whether renewed help is needed.
Local connection and referral rules are recast. Authorities may notify another authority in Wales or England of their view that conditions for referral are met at the prevention stage for prisoners, and at or in place of the section 75 duty. A new exempt‑from‑referral test prevents transfers that would increase the risk of abuse, blocks repeat referrals on the same application, and limits prisoner referrals after two weeks from notification. Where a referral succeeds, the receiving authority treats the case as if applied to it from the notification date and can depart from the first authority’s findings only where circumstances have changed or new information justifies it.
Multi‑agency duties are expanded. Specified persons-including social services authorities, Local Health Boards, the Welsh Ambulance Services Trust, prisons, probation, youth justice teams, Jobcentre Plus and the Ministry of Defence in relation to regular forces-must seek consent to notify a local authority where an individual may be homeless or at risk, provide information about available help, and consider any further steps they can take. England’s section 213B referral duty is also broadened so notifications to Welsh authorities are treated as applications under section 62.
Allocations policy changes are extensive. Every Welsh local authority must maintain a common housing register; registered social landlords and private registered providers offering homes under nomination arrangements may only let to people on that register. Authorities must also maintain an accessible housing register of properties with features that assist disabled people, with social landlords under a duty to supply information on their stock.
Applicants must be offered a reasonable opportunity to view accommodation-physically or otherwise-before deciding on offers made to end duties under sections 66 or 75. The Welsh Ministers will issue guidance on rent‑guarantee arrangements that councils may operate, and on when social landlords have good reasons and what counts as a reasonable period when responding to requests to assist section 75 households. Ministers may direct landlords to comply where explanations are not sufficient.
To protect finite stock, allocation rules introduce a manipulation of the housing system test. People who deliberately leave reasonable accommodation to trigger homelessness entitlements, or who enter arrangements with that purpose, may be denied reasonable preference unless there is another good reason. Decisions on ineligibility for anti‑social behaviour must consider the likelihood of that behaviour recurring. Preference is added for people owed accommodation duties under section 108A of the Social Services and Well‑being (Wales) Act 2014.
Young people and care leavers receive strengthened accommodation duties. Where well‑being requires it, responsible authorities must take reasonable steps to secure suitable accommodation for three years after age 18 for specified groups, and for 12 months following the end of certain care‑leaver or education‑related duties. Suitable accommodation will be defined in regulations, allowing standards to be set by reference to provider, tenure, condition, location and household circumstances.
Standards, data and strategy are tightened. Suitability assessments must now have regard to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 conditions regime. Welsh Ministers must report on the use and condition of interim and section 75 accommodation by 31 December 2030 and every five years thereafter. Homelessness strategies and statutory guidance must be developed in consultation with people who are or have been homeless. Local protocols are required for 16–17‑year‑olds, care leavers and people leaving custody, with an explicit remit to improve case co‑ordination across housing, health and social services.
For housing teams, the operational shift is immediate: earlier prevention at the six‑month mark, a standardised prevention, support and accommodation plan with an eight‑week review cycle, wider review rights, and clearer closure routes. Social landlords should prepare for stronger nomination expectations tied to the common register, information requests on accessible homes, and potential ministerial direction where requests are not met. Advice agencies can signpost expanded review routes and sustainment help lasting up to a year after accommodation is secured.