At present, one in six households in Wales are privately renting. The private rented sector plays an important role in the housing landscape across Wales, with many landlords providing high-quality accommodation and support. But too many people face housing insecurity or live in poor-quality rental accommodation. We will therefore implement a package of measures to protect renters, and we will also progress measures to ensure fair rents are set, so that the price of renting a home is as affordable as possible.
We are facing a housing crisis, which is the result of several overlapping issues: historic matters that have led to an inadequate housing supply, rising house prices and increasing rents. This has left people in poverty or in crisis. My intention is to bring forward proposals to legislate for the right to adequate housing for all. Housing policy in Wales will realise this right progressively, focusing on addressing homelessness, ensuring housing costs better reflect local incomes, supporting community ownership, promoting the Welsh language and culture, and helping young people to remain in their communities.
Too many people in Wales live in homes that are of poor quality and are difficult to heat. The costs of heating and running a home are putting more and more pressure on families, and a quarter of households in Wales now live in fuel poverty. This impacts health and well-being and hinders life chances. I am determined to do everything I can to help households and families across Wales. I will ensure that more work is done to reduce energy bills by promoting improvements in energy efficiency and the quality of homes. I'll protect the support for those experiencing acute fuel poverty, and I will also explore ways to go further and faster to improve living standards, to tackle fuel poverty, and to reduce household carbon emissions. And, in our first 100 days, we will review the Warm Homes programme to ensure that it delivers effective support.
To tackle our housing challenges, we need to make the best use of the housing stock we already have. I am all too aware of how high concentrations of second homes and short-term lets can impact communities, making it more difficult for local people to afford housing, and contributing to community and Welsh language decline. I'm determined to bring renewed focus to this issue, working with local authorities to seek solutions.
Thriving communities are the lifeblood of our nation, therefore I intend to bring forward a community right to buy Bill. This will make it easier for valued community assets, including buildings and land for housing, to be brought into community ownership. I will also be establishing a town centre taskforce within our first 100 days. The taskforce will look at how to develop residential properties in our town centres, for example, so that more people are able to live in our town centres, enabling them to develop into flourishing centres.
And, Llywydd, I'm proud to have played a role in introducing two significant pieces of legislation, namely the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Act 2026 and the Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026. These were passed by the Senedd with unanimous support, through the work of the previous Cabinet Member, who I was very pleased to collaborate with. As we mark the ninth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower tragedy this weekend, I am committed to working with partners to embrace the transformative opportunities that this specific legislation on building safety offers. It's essential that we have an effective planning system, giving a community-centred approach that protects and strengthens local leadership. To do this, we will take further steps to reform and simplify the planning legislative and policy framework.
With homes being the foundation of well-being and belonging, strong and effective public services are essential to create vibrant, well-connected communities. Therefore, I want to renew and strengthen the relationship between the Welsh Government and local authorities, ensuring that they are full partners in the work of designing and delivering public services. As a former councillor and a former local government cabinet member, I am passionate about public services, and I have first-hand experience of how local authorities, councillors and council staff work tirelessly to deliver the best outcomes for the people and communities they serve. I understand, as do my Cabinet colleagues, the importance of stable and sustainable local government to ensure the delivery of all of our priorities.
We will ensure that our local authorities are in the strongest position possible to provide the services on which all of us depend. In our first 100 days, we have committed to renewing the strategic partnership agreement with local authorities, to establish positive working relationships with local authorities the length and breadth of Wales. We must make sure the way we fund local government is fair across Wales, so that they can respond to the numerous challenges that they face. Therefore, we're already reviewing the local government funding formula to ensure that it reflects the real cost of delivering services in different parts of Wales. We need to reduce bureaucracy and processes, and focus on delivery, making sure that we work together to make the best use of funding, and we need to empower local government to use its core funding better. I want to work with local government to support and enable councils to find their own solutions and by working together towards long-term sustainability, and that's by looking at how things can be done differently, working with them and listening to them to understand what works.
Llywydd, I will conclude. I've used the word 'determined' several times, I've just noticed, but I am determined to turn ambition into action, to deliver the homes that people need, along with the resilient public services that communities rely on. Together, we will build a fairer Wales where everyone has security and opportunity, a roof above their heads, and vibrant communities to live in. Thank you very much.