Social Housing in Wales
According to Statistics for Wales, the Social Housing Stock is defined as the number of dwellings owned or partially owned by local authorities and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), also known as Housing Associations.
This stock has averaged around 226,687 units between financial year 2002–03 and 2018–19.
While the total stock has remained within a narrow range over the past two decades, there has been a 50% reduction in stock owned by local authorities.
Similarly, the amount of stock provided by Registered Social Landlords has seen an uptick of over 140%.
One of the reasons for this fall has been due to non-compliance with Welsh Housing Quality Standards (WHQS).
The WHQS were first published in 2002, and later revised in 2008. Landlords were expected to comply with these by 2012.
On an average, about 15,808 lettings are provided every year. Most of these go to people on waiting lists, the rest are provided to families re-housed on a priority basis due to homelessness.
StatsWales did not have data on waiting lists for social housing, however, the Welsh Government conceded in a document that demand was high and their budgets were constrained.
According to estimates by the Welsh Government, in 2020–21, there is an existing unmet need for 1,129 housing units and a newly arising need for 7,029 housing units.
