Twenty Welsh housing organisations have joined together under the Homes for All Cymru banner to launch their manifesto, ahead of the National Assembly for Wales 2016 election.

Steve Clarke, managing director of Welsh Tenants, will launch the manifesto today at TAI 2015, the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru’s national conference. It seeks to influence political parties to prioritise action to address the housing crisis by focusing on eight themes:

CIH Cymru director Helen Northmore said: “In Wales the one housing system approach is a reality not an aspiration. This manifesto, co-authored by twenty organisations, shows the level of consensus that we have. We ask all political parties in Wales to listen to the housing community and work towards ending the housing crisis.”

Michelle Wales, head of campaigns at Shelter Cymru, said: “We want homelessness services to take the idea of the person-centred approach truly to heart. Services must strive to empower and support households at risk. We also want to see service user feedback as a national performance indicator.”

Steve Clarke added: “There’s a number of common themes running through the Homes For all Cymru manifesto. Clearly, our passion and commitment to our cause is not a barrier to what can be achieved, given the close connectivity of housing support organisations in Wales.”

Meanwhile, means legal advice is now available in Wales for anyone threatened with homelessness within 56 days, following a change in the rules.

Clients living in Wales who are threatened with homelessness within 56 days are eligible for legal advice following implementation of housing legislation passed in September 2014.

Previously, Welsh clients were not entitled to legal advice until the threat of homelessness was within 28 days.

The change came into effect on 27 April 2015.

These changes were introduced under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, which received Royal Assent on 17 September 2014.