Shelter Cymru says homelessness is on the rise in Wales

Shelter Cymru said homelessness in Wales had grown by 57% in the past three years, at the same time as 16,000 council homes have been sold.

The charity said that right-to-buy schemes had contributed, with other factors, to a shortage of "affordable" housing in Wales.

Right-to-buy schemes allow tenants to buy their homes from local authorities.

The growth in recorded homelessness in Wales is overwhelmingly because of the lack of enough affordable homes John Puzey, Shelter Cymru

Shelter Cymru director John Puzey said a reduction in the number of available council homes was a factor in the increase of homelessness.

"The growth in recorded homelessness in Wales is overwhelmingly because of the lack of enough affordable homes," he said.

"One of the main causes has been house price inflation and a lack of new social rented homes, but the constant haemorrhaging of council homes through the right to buy has also had a significant impact."

'Suspension necessary'

The charity added that it acknowledged that the right-to-buy scheme had allowed people who may not have been able to move onto the home ownership ladder.

But it claimed that, by reducing the level of rented housing, right-to-buy had also contributed to homelessness and forced many people to leave rural communities.

It added that in the last 25 years, 130,000 council homes had been sold, reducing council stock for rent by 42%.

Shelter Cymru, which helps more than 17,000 people with housing problems in Wales every year, said it believed the Welsh Assembly Government should be given powers to suspend council house tenants' right to buy their homes in some areas.

Mr Puzey added: "The assembly government has...called for powers to be given them which will allow the suspension of the right to buy in areas of housing pressure.

"We strongly support this call and believe in the current housing climate that suspension will be necessary for a time in many parts of Wales."