Tenants informed of Welsh Housing Quality Standards changes

Housing associations in north Wales are informing tenants of changes being introduced on the way landlords respond to hazards in the home.

The changes in Wales, coming into effect on April 1st 2026 form part of the Welsh Housing Quality Standards 2023 and mean there are new strict timescales for landlords to deal with hazards such as defects or disrepair where the cause lies within the landlord’s control.

The new timescales being introduced say:

• A hazard which may present a significant risk with an assessed likelihood of imminent harm to the tenant/occupier must be investigated within 24 hours and remedied within a further 24 hours. Any work to make safe should be carried out as soon as possible in any event.

• A hazard which may present a significant risk with no assessed likelihood of imminent harm will be investigated within 10 working days and remedied within a further 5 working day period.

• On occasion when it will not be possible to remedy a hazard within the timescales, a written summary plan must be provided to the tenant within 5 working days.

In a joint statement, Ian Roberts, Head of Property (Revenue) at Adra; Craig Sparrow, Executive Director of Property and Development for ClwydAlyn; Sharon Morris, Director of Operations of Grŵp Cynefin; Lauren Eaton Jones, Assistant Director of Development at North Wales Housing and Owain Roberts, Assistant Director of Assets and Tenant Safety at Cartrefi Conwy said:

“Over recent years there has been a far greater spotlight on how landlords across the UK respond to issues around damp, mould and condensation and other hazards in the home.

“We’d like to reassure tenants that we already have strong and clear processes in place to deal with these kinds of issues, as we take our responsibilities as landlords seriously. Our tenants deserve homes that are safe and comfortable and that remains a priority for us.

“These new laws mean that we have changed some of our processes for responding to issues that arise and strengthen the way we communicate with tenants around how we will be responding to reports they make about any hazards in their homes”.