Good quality housing makes a fundamental difference to good mental and physical health and wellbeing and also has a critical contribution to make to the use of the health and care system.

There is abundant evidence that poor quality housing is associated with poor physical and mental health and key areas that demonstrate a relationship between the quality of housing and its impact on health are as follows:

• dampness and mould linked to asthma and respiratory conditions
• cool and damp housing associated with mental ill health
• overcrowding/lack of space linked to a range of conditions and diseases in children and adults and when experienced in childhood can contribute to respiratory symptoms in adulthood
• toxins such as radon, tobacco-smoke, formaldehyde and pollutants resulting from solid fuel use are associated with respiratory symptoms and conditions such as wheezing, respiratory infections, lung cancer and coronary heart disease (the most relevant of these in Wales are exposure to radon and tobacco smoke)
• certain aspects of building design and the type of housing one lives in have also been associated with poor health, such as noise, accidents and injuries, high-rise living and spatial design.