CIH Cymru respond to latest affordable housing delivery data

Welsh government has today announced the affordable housing delivery data for 2024/26. A total of 3,643 additional affordable homes were delivered between April 2024 and March 2025. Of these 3,530 were delivered for rent in the social housing sector. 

Whilst we welcome this additional supply of affordable and social homes across Wales we are concerned that the overall 20,000 affordable homes target will not be met by 2026. To date just 13,399 homes have been delivered towards the target. This leaves just twelve months to go to deliver a further 6,601 affordable homes if we are to meet the target. 

Our members, who work for social housing providers, are committed to delivering the homes we need at pace and scale but need considerable further investment and help to ensure that the current blockers to development in Wales can be tackled. Without a significant uplift in resource into skills and supply chains, as well as increased capital investment, it will be difficult the deliver the homes we need to tackle the housing emergency in Wales. 

CIH Cymru director Matt Dicks said: “Wales is currently experiencing a deepening structural housing emergency. Currently 90,000 households representing 170,000 individuals including 34,000 children are waiting for a social home in Wales. Whilst the additional affordable homes delivered in 2024/25 are welcomed we need to increase the pace and scale of this delivery. Based on research by Shelter Cymru at current delivery rates it is estimated that it will take 35 years-to clear the social housing waiting list in Wales.

“Our social housing providers are committed to providing the homes we need to end the housing emergency but have repeatedly informed us through our series of sector snapshot surveys that to do this they need more investment for development, the planning system blockers to be tackled and the availability of viable land to be looked at. They have also informed us that housing needs to be a bigger priority for government to ensure that it has the right level of investment to deliver the number of homes we need at pace and scale to end the housing emergency. 

“In our manifesto ‘A plan for housing in Wales’ we have outlined that in order to make housing a foundation mission of government we need to enshrine the right of adequate housing into Welsh legislation. This will provide the paradigm shift needed to be that mechanism and driver to increase investment, overcome the barriers to development and ensure that everyone in Wales can access a safe, suitable and affordable home.”

You can read CIH Cymru’s “Plan for Housing in Wales” manifesto and housing strategy here.