08 Oct 2026
CIH Cymru response to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee consultation on priorities for the Seventh Senedd
Introduction
Over the summer 2026 recess, the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee held a consultation to establish the three priorities for its programme of work over the Senedd term. Given the breadth of housing issues facing Wales, CIH Cymru has highlighted the following priorities:
- More social and affordable homes
- Improving our existing homes and tackling fuel poverty
- Addressing the stigma associated with social housing and promoting the positive impact of diverse communities.
The proposed right to adequate housing will be a significant piece of legislation during the Seventh Senedd and will rightly be subject to detailed committee scrutiny.
The three priorities we have submitted will be fundamental to the progressive realisation of the right to adequate housing and reflect the issues our members encounter across Wales every day. Together, they address the availability, quality and accessibility of housing, while recognising the wider role that housing plays in supporting individual wellbeing, opportunity and strong, inclusive communities.
The issues and questions highlighted throughout this paper are intended to assist the Committee in its scrutiny of housing policy and legislation during the Seventh Senedd. CIH Cymru is committed to supporting this work and looks forward to engaging with the Committee over the course of the Senedd term.
What is your number one priority?
CIH Cymru’s number one priority is scaling up, at pace, the supply of social and affordable homes.
Why should this be a priority for the committee?
The socio-economic context
Wales is facing a housing emergency, with high levels of homelessness, a shortage of social housing and growing affordability pressures. In 2025/26, 12,183 households became homeless, with homelessness successfully relieved for 27%. On 31 March 2026, 6,201 households were in temporary accommodation, including families with children in 20% of cases.
Shelter Cymru research (2025) found 94,000 households waiting for a social home in Wales, equivalent to one in 14 households. At the same time, private rents have increased faster than wages and CPI since 2023 as outlined in CIH Cymru’s housing strategy. In addition Crisis research (2025) found that only 0.1% to 4.9% of one to three-bedroom rental properties were affordable for families reliant on Local Housing Allowance, while Shelter Cymru research (2026) found no affordable private rented homes for some low-income households.
The Welsh government’s commitment to deliver 20,000 social homes during the Seventh Senedd is welcome, but additional action will be needed to ensure a sufficient supply of social and affordable homes and make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.
What needs to be done?
A new way to calculate housing need
Current measures of housing need do not fully capture demand, as they exclude many households living in unsuitable or overcrowded homes. National Housing Federation research found that more households are in need than appear on waiting lists, with our members reporting similar trends in Wales due to shortages and long waiting times.
Housing need assessments must also ensure the right homes are built in the right places. With 74% of households in temporary accommodation being single-person households, development targets should include a stronger focus on one-bedroom homes alongside family housing.
- How can the calculation of housing need adopt a methodology that fully captures the number of households living in unsuitable homes, including those in overcrowded households and those in housing need but who are not applying for a social home due to current shortages?
- How can the publication of housing need data be amended so it reflects different types and size of housing needed, as well as the need across urban, rural and regional housing markets?
Appropriate funding levels
The #BacktheBill campaign's cost-benefit analysis, conducted by Alma Economics, estimated the cost of building a new home in Wales at £200,000 in 2022. Adjusted for inflation, this rises to £233,921 as of June 2026. Delivering 20,000 additional social homes over the Senedd term, based on the Social Housing Grant's 70% grant rate cap, would therefore require around £3.27 billion in grant funding, or £819 million annually .
By comparison, Social Housing Grant funding during the Sixth Senedd totalled £1.7 billion, averaging £340 million per year, around 59% below the level required to meet the Government's target. While recent increases in investment are welcome, a significant gap remains between ambition and delivery.
Alongside increased Social Housing Grant (SHG), continued funding for the Transactional Accommodation Capital Programme (TACP) is essential to bring empty homes back into use and make the most of existing stock. Innovative funding mechanisms, such as land value capture, should also be explored to provide the additional capital funding for development. Long-term certainty over housing capital funding throughout the Senedd term will be critical for effective planning, pipeline development and delivery confidence across local authorities and housing associations.
Given the scale of the funding gap, scrutiny of how we can develop the homes we need to end the housing emergency should consider not only whether investment levels are sufficient to meet housing targets, but also whether funding is sustained and predictable enough to support effective delivery over the course of the Senedd term.
- What role could alternative finance models, including public lending and institutional investment, play in supporting housing delivery?
- Is the current level of SHG and its level of intervention sufficient to build the homes we need and, if not, what level of grant is needed annually and what should the intervention rate be?
- How can we ensure that there is a multi-year funding framework across all capital grant programmes to enable effective forward planning for developing the homes we need?
Unnos
The 2019 Independent Review of Affordable Housing Supply recommended the creation of an arm’s-length body to support public sector land management and development. The Cabinet minister for local government, housing and planning has announced that work on this will commence within the first 100 days of the new government.
CIH Cymru, mirroring the findings of the affordable housing review, sees Unnos as becoming the strategic body that brings together the key elements needed to deliver social and affordable housing at pace and scale, including land availability, use of vacant land, planning capacity and housing supply chains.
- What should the scope of Unnos be, what governance mechanisms will need to be put in place and what resources will it need to be effective? Does this change if it is within Welsh government or established as an arm’s-length body?
Investment in the planning system
A well-functioning planning system is essential to delivering more homes. The Welsh Government has already taken positive steps through planning fee reforms, a £9 million town planning bursaries scheme and changes to permitted development rights to reduce pressures on the system.
However, further investment is needed to increase planning capacity, grow the future workforce and ensure local planning authorities can process applications efficiently. Strengthening the planning system will help accelerate housing delivery and support efforts to tackle the housing emergency.
- Will the planning reforms proposed by the previous government be sufficient to address capacity constraints within local planning authorities? If not, what further work will be needed to tackle these capacity issues?
- What additional level of investment is needed to recruit, retain and develop the planning workforce? Will the proposed self-funding system be sufficient to fund any additional resources needed?
Right to adequate housing
The Right to Adequate Housing is included in the legislative programme for the Seventh Senedd and will make housing a genuine foundation mission for government.
It should be prioritised as a key piece of housing legislation, providing the framework for long-term action to progressively realise the right to a safe, suitable and affordable home for everyone, and drive delivery of the social and affordable homes needed now and in the future.
- What duties and accountabilities should accompany the new right to ensure effective delivery and implementation across public bodies?
Rent controls
Rent controls are seen as a way to make renting more affordable for households. Yet, as outlined in our Housing Strategy, the private rented sector is a key part of a well-functioning housing system. Any measures around the possible introduction of rent controls in Wales will need to be considered carefully by the committee as part of Welsh government engagement with the housing sector around the issue.
CIH research in Northern Ireland and research by the Nationwide Foundation in Scotland found that measures such as rent freezes or rent caps can reduce supply if landlords leave the sector. Other approaches, such as limiting rent increases during tenancies, can improve affordability but may reduce mobility and turnover within the market.
A sustainable housing system includes a strong private rented sector. In Wales, this sector should be part of a wider strategy for a sustainable housing system. However, increasing the supply of social and affordable homes is also essential to rebalance tenure and reduce rental costs, supported by adequate Welsh government funding.
- How can any future measures to tackle high rents in the private rented sector balance the need to improve affordability for renters with the need to maintain a viable and sustainable private rented sector?
- To what extent should rent regulation be considered alongside broader measures to increase housing supply, particularly social and affordable homes?
What is your second highest priority?
CIH Cymru’s second highest priority is improving our existing homes and tackling fuel poverty.
Why should this be a priority for the committee?
Current context
Wales has a legally binding target to achieve net zero by 2050. Social housing providers must ensure homes meet EPC band C by 2030 under the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS), with private rented homes also expected to reach EPC band C by 2030.
Housing associations are committed to both delivering new homes and decarbonising existing stock, but our sector snapshot surveys continue to show that housing professionals believe that additional funding is needed to achieve both priorities. Action is also required in the owner-occupied sector, which accounts for around 70% of homes in Wales. Fuel poverty remains a significant challenge, affecting around one in four households.
What needs to be done
A fair funding model for decarbonisation
The Welsh government has allocated £96.9 million in 2026/27 to decarbonise existing social homes. While welcome, research from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) suggests this is insufficient to bring all social homes up to EPC A, as required by the WHQS.
The NEF estimated that decarbonising all homes in Wales would require £14.75 billion over the next decade, including £5.5 billion for social housing. This would enable social homes to reach EPC A under the WHQS, while bringing other homes up to EPC C.
The research suggests government investment of £5.3 billion will be needed overall, with the remaining 64% coming from private finance, energy companies and property owners. For social housing alone, Welsh Government investment would need to reach around £2.25 billion over the decade in today's prices, equivalent to £225 million annually. Compared with the current allocation, this represents a substantial funding gap.
Alongside increased public investment, new financing mechanisms for the private sector will be essential. Expanding access to affordable loans, incentives and blended finance models could help unlock the private investment needed to meet Wales' wider decarbonisation goals.
- Is the current policy and funding framework sufficient to meet Wales' housing decarbonisation ambitions and, if not, what changes are needed to address the investment gap?
- How will Welsh Government ensure housing decarbonisation policies contribute to climate, fuel poverty and housing quality objectives, and how will progress be measured?
- To what extent are fuel poverty outcomes being prioritised, and how will investment in energy efficiency be assessed across different housing tenures?
Bridging the skills gap
Delivering housing decarbonisation will require a larger and more specialised workforce. The construction workforce is ageing, with 24% of workers aged over 55, while too few younger people are entering the industry.
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) forecasts Wales will need more than 117,000 construction workers by 2029, requiring around 1,720 additional workers each year. Welsh Government estimates a retrofit workforce gap of between 2,500 and 7,400 workers, with labour supply expected to decline without intervention.
- How can more young people and career changers be attracted into construction and retrofit careers?
- Are current education, apprenticeship and training programmes sufficient to meet housing and decarbonisation workforce needs?
- How can government, industry and training providers work together to develop the specialist skills needed for retrofit and low-carbon construction?
Developing local supply chains
Strong local supply chains can improve resilience, support Welsh businesses and reduce emissions associated with transporting materials. They can also support the circular economy, create jobs and help manage rising construction costs.
Construction material costs continue to increase, with UK data showing prices for all construction work rose by 6% between June 2025 and June 2026, including significant increases in steel and pipes and fittings. Greater certainty around material costs will be important as economic and geopolitical pressures continue.
- How can public investment and procurement practices better support Welsh suppliers, manufacturers and the circular economy?
- What opportunities exist to increase the use of locally sourced materials while reducing costs, emissions and supply-chain risks?
What is your third priority?
CIH Cymru’s third priority is to address the stigma associated with social housing and promote the positive impact of diverse communities.
Why should this be a priority for the committee?
Current context
Many people living in social housing experience stigma linked to negative stereotypes about who social housing is for. Research from CIH Cymru found strong public support for social housing but misunderstandings about its residents, with perceptions often focused on low-income households, single parents and asylum seekers. Those living in social housing were more likely to recognise its diverse tenant base, including working families, older people and young professionals.
Stigma can also affect attitudes towards new social housing developments, creating opposition to new homes in both owner-occupied and existing social housing communities.
At the same time, rising social polarisation, misinformation and discrimination risk undermining community cohesion. Housing professionals identified community cohesion as a growing concern in CIH Cymru's Winter 2025/26 sector snapshot survey.
What is needed
Eradicate stigma associated with social housing
Tyfu Tai's report on housing need and desirability highlighted the need to:
- Increase public awareness of different housing tenures and the role of social housing.
- Deliver a Welsh Government-led national myth-busting campaign about housing need and who lives in social housing.
- Use clear, consistent and accessible language when discussing social housing and new developments.
- Improve understanding of the positive role social housing plays in creating strong communities.
- How can the Welsh government, in partnership with the housing sector and public sector partners, deliver a coordinated national campaign to improve understanding of social housing and its role in sustainable communities?
- What would an effective communication and engagement strategy look like to ensure consistent and accessible messaging about social housing and new developments?
Improve community cohesion
Community cohesion is being challenged by a range of social, economic and cultural factors. While race and ethnicity remain important considerations, divisions linked to religion, socio-economic disadvantage, political affiliation and other protected characteristics can be equally damaging to social inclusion, trust and community resilience.
Wales has several strategies aimed at promoting inclusion, including the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan, LGBTQ+ Action Plan and Disabled People's Rights Action Plan. These are supported by the socio-economic duty and the Well-being of Future Generations framework, which includes cohesive communities as a national wellbeing goal.
The role of the right to adequate housing
The proposed right to adequate housing provides an opportunity to reshape perceptions of social housing and promote more cohesive communities. Beyond ensuring access to a safe, suitable and affordable home, the right can help tackle discrimination, improve equality of access and support a fairer housing system. By reducing inequalities across housing tenures, it has the potential to contribute to a more equitable Wales for current and future generations.
- What measures are needed to assess community cohesion locally and nationally, and how can they be used to track progress in reducing discrimination and exclusion?
- How effective are Wales' equality action plans in strengthening community cohesion, and how can communities be involved in evaluating their impact?
Conclusion
The three priorities outlined in this submission reflect some of the most significant housing challenges facing Wales and are closely connected to the successful delivery of the proposed Right to Adequate Housing. Increasing the supply of social and affordable homes, improving existing housing and tackling fuel poverty, and addressing stigma and strengthening community cohesion will all be essential if Wales is to ensure everyone has access to a safe, suitable and affordable home.
We hope the questions highlighted throughout this paper will be helpful as the Committee undertakes its scrutiny work and explores how best to address both current housing pressures and future housing needs across Wales. CIH Cymru looks forward to working constructively with the Committee throughout the Seventh Senedd, bringing together the knowledge, expertise and practical experience of our members across Wales to inform inquiries, contribute evidence and support effective scrutiny of housing policy and legislation. Together, there is an opportunity to make meaningful progress towards a housing system that works for everyone and delivers on the ambition of housing adequacy for this and future generations.
