How many local authorities in Wales have declared a housing emergency?
Cardiff Council declared a housing emergency in their Cabinet meeting in December 2023. I am not aware of any further such declarations.
It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to determine how best to discharge their functions in respect of developing allocation schemes. They do this taking into account their specific local housing demand and paying due regard to the Welsh Government’s Code of Guidance.
Local authorities are required by Section 167 of the Housing Act 1996 to have an allocation scheme that determines the authority’s priorities and procedures to be followed in allocating housing. The allocation scheme should specify eligibility criteria, alongside preference categories that must be awarded to applicants by local authorities. Each local authority should have its own published allocations policy available for the public to access.