One in 14 households affected as housing crisis deepens

MORE than 94,000 households in Wales are waiting for a social home—equivalent to one in every fourteen homes across the country.

The figures, obtained by Shelter Cymru through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to every local authority in Wales, reveal the scale of the housing emergency. In total, the waiting lists cover approximately 170,000 people, including around 45,000 children.

Despite the mounting demand, just 2,600 new social homes were built in Wales last year. At this rate, it would take 35 years to meet the current need, campaigners have warned.

The charity is calling for urgent action and a step change in investment from the Welsh Government, warning that the housing crisis is having a devastating impact on individuals and families—particularly single-parent households, who are disproportionately represented on waiting lists.

Shelter Cymru is supporting Louise*, a single mother living in temporary accommodation with her two children after being made homeless due to rent arrears. Louise said: “It’s horrendous because you’re living in limbo. You live a completely different life because you don’t know what’s next. All I want is somewhere permanent so I can get my life back to normal, so I can get a job again. But it’s just the waiting. We’re not able to make plans. We’re stuck here. You can’t think about planning your future.”

Ruth Power, CEO of Shelter Cymru, said the figures should serve as a wake-up call.

“These new figures are a wake-up call,” she said. “It is unacceptable that more than 94,000 households are forced to wait years for a place they can call home. We must confront the reality that, as a nation, we are failing to meet the needs of our communities.

“Investing in social homes is a moral obligation; it is an investment in a stable foundation for people’s lives, health and futures. But it’s also a practical solution to a pressing problem. If we don’t deliver more social homes, it will ramp up the financial pressures on local authorities that are already struggling to cope with local demand.”

Shelter Cymru is calling on the Welsh Government to increase funding to build or acquire new social homes and develop a clear national strategy. The charity says social homes must be placed at the heart of housing policy in Wales.

The Welsh Government has committed to delivering 20,000 new social homes by the end of 2026, but Shelter Cymru and its partners say this will not be enough.

Alicja Zalesinska, Chief Executive of Tai Pawb and a leader of the “Back the Bill” campaign, said: “The positive steps from Welsh Government aimed at meeting people’s housing needs clearly fall short of the fundamental change necessary to address the housing emergency.

“I have no doubt that this need for change is felt deeply by the 170,000 people on the waiting lists, who simply cannot wait 35 years for their housing situation to be resolved.

“That’s why the Back the Bill coalition believes that addressing the housing crisis must be a central mission for the government—and it can only be achieved by hardwiring this commitment into Welsh legislation by introducing the right to a good home.”

Shelter Cymru is working with the Bevan Foundation to campaign for long-term reforms to the social housing system and boost the supply of affordable homes.

*Name changed to protect identity.