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Housing

Housing is one of the fundamental building blocks for a healthy life. Where we live, and every part of our home, can influence our physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Table of contents:

Why is it important to health, well-being and reducing inequalities?

All aspects of our homes can affect our physical and mental health. For example, a healthy home needs to be warm and free of damp and mould to protect us from being at risk of ill-health, such as breathing and lung problems.

It is also necessary to have enough space and light, and a home well-suited to our needs. When we live in a home that is overcrowded, for example, it can stop us from having privacy, negatively affect our sleep or make it easier for infectious diseases to spread.  

Our homes also need to be affordable. Money worries caused by housing costs, like energy bills and rent payments, can cause stress and anxiety. As well as being bad for our mental health, this can have knock-on negative consequences for our physical health.

Healthy homes should also provide a feeling of home – a sense of belonging, security and privacy. Our surrounding communities and neighbourhoods play an important role in supporting good health and well-being by contributing to that sense of belonging. They also determine how easily we can access things that help keep us healthy, like health services and green spaces. Homes that are well-maintained, and energy efficient bring benefits to our health by being warm, free of damp, and less expensive to heat. This can also benefit the climate and nature emergencies by reducing the amount of energy we use.

What is Public Health Wales doing to improve housing and health for the population in Wales?

We believe that everyone in Wales should be able to live in a home that protects and promotes their health and well-being. Making our homes healthier needs to be a priority if we want to keep people well rather than have people suffering from ill health that could have been avoided. To achieve this we: 

1. Highlight the health impacts of unhealthy housing

We conduct research to better understand how housing conditions, such as energy efficiency and affordability, affect health and well-being. Our studies highlight the links between cold, poor-quality homes and ill health such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease, mental health challenges, and an increase in deaths during winter. Our research also looks at the financial impacts of ill health caused by unhealthy homes to the NHS and wider society.

2. Identify solutions and advocate for healthy homes across Wales

Public Health Wales works with other organisations to identify what needs to change to make the homes we have in Wales healthier, drawing on evidence and people’s lived experience, and sharing examples of where housing is already helping to keep people healthy so we can make the case for doing more of what works. We share this evidence and insight with Welsh government to advocate for housing policy decisions in Wales that recognise and reflect the important link between our homes and our physical and mental health and give practical examples of what can be done.

3. Guide the planning and design of healthier places

We work with local authorities and health partners across Wales to integrate health and well-being considerations into planning policy and decisions and advocate the use of Health Impact Assessments in planning. We have published resources such as the “Planning Healthy Places” guide to support local authorities to integrate health into planning decisions. This includes the siting and design of housing, access to green space, transport, and community amenities, all of which are aimed at creating living environments that enable healthier lives.

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