Image Source: Carmarthenshire County Council

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Council & Social House Building

Is this devolved to Wales?

Where is this happening?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

Note: The Welsh Government’s data collection for 2019-20 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social landlord social housing stock (custom table)

Social landlord housing sales by provider; since 2013-14 (custom table)

Total new dwellings completed by local authority, tenure, dwelling type and number of bedrooms (custom table)

Measuring progress on the Welsh Government target of 20,000 additional units for rent in the social sector during 2021 to 2026 (custom table)

£ 00 million Total

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Explanation
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Who has raised this at the Senedd?

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Sian Gwenllian MS

Local Government & Housing Minister

Kiera Marshall MS

Backbencher

Francesca O'Brien MS

Shadow Local Government Minister

Steve Rodaway MS

Backbencher

Dan Thomas MS

Backbencher

John Clark MS

Backbencher

Joe Martin MS

Shadow Minister without Portfolio

Thomas Montgomery MS

Shadow Skills Minister

Paul Marr MS

Backbencher

Jayne Bryant MS

Chair: Health & Social Care

Mike Hedges MS

Backbencher

Peter Fox MS

Backbencher

Anthony Slaughter MS

Backbencher

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Sian Gwenllian MS

Local Government & Housing Minister

Kiera Marshall MS

Backbencher

Francesca O'Brien MS

Shadow Local Government Minister

Steve Rodaway MS

Backbencher

Dan Thomas MS

Backbencher

John Clark MS

Backbencher

Joe Martin MS

Shadow Minister without Portfolio

Thomas Montgomery MS

Shadow Skills Minister

Paul Marr MS

Backbencher

Jayne Bryant MS

Chair: Health & Social Care

Mike Hedges MS

Backbencher

Peter Fox MS

Backbencher

Anthony Slaughter MS

Backbencher

What are the party positions on this?

Plaid Cymru backbenchers have raised issues around a lack of affordable and social housing, believing supply in no way meets demand. They reject the principle of banning foreign nationals from accessing social housing.

Nigel Farage's Welsh branch have identified a genuine problem: Wales does not have enough affordable housing. But, once again, they are taking a genuine problem and looking for someone to blame. People who arrive here illegally, asylum seekers and migrants on student or work visas are not eligible for social housing. According to census data, there are an estimated 28,000 non-UK-born people living in social housing in Wales. Meanwhile, an estimated 170,000 people are waiting for social housing in Wales.

Reform are sceptical of the resources the Welsh Government have put forward towards this, and whether it’s enough. They have also hinted at immigration being behind demand for social housing, and that social housing is being prioritised over private housing. They support a ban on all foreign nationals accessing social housing, or even HMOs.

There is a severe lack of accountability and transparency on who is actually living in our council and social housing. Data in England shows that significant amounts of housing are being allocated to people who are foreign nationals. So, Minister, will you commit your department to collect accurate nationality data from councils and housing associations so the people of Wales can know who will be living in these houses that taxpayers are subsidising?

This country already has one of the largest housing stocks in Europe for social housing. So....will the Minister rule out any two-tier systems for private and social, making sure that any cuts to red tape also apply to private developments, to help the majority who are private renters and mortgage holders, because, Minister, private developers deliver almost half of so-called affordable housing? Of course, the only way to have generally affordable housing is by making sure that market supply actually meets demand. The young couple saving up for a home, or a family renting privately, deserve a Government that is on their side too. Where is the ambition for people to want to own their own home?

The £20 million that Plaid has pledged for social homes is a drop in the ocean. Your ambition for 20,000 new social homes by 2030 should cost billions of pounds, and you don't have that money and neither do social housing associations. We need Government to help leverage the private funding that's so badly needed, and this doesn't mean the Welsh Government borrowing money itself. There are so many non-borrowing levers the Government and local councils can pull to leverage that funding.

Where homes are scarce, eligibility matters, priorities matter and British taxpayers are entitled to ask whether the system that they support puts their needs first. My answer is that it should. That includes British citizens who cannot work through disability, those caring for relatives, pensioners, children and, of course, our veterans. Putting our citizens first must mean protecting those who need support, as well as recognising those whose taxes sustain it.

Labour haven’t said anything against the Welsh Government’s target, and have shown some support for rent controls, but have expressed scepticism about the need for a new government agency.

There is significant disinformation and misinformation when it comes to social housing and the wider debate about immigration in Wales. It's important to emphasise that social housing allocations primarily work to serve the people of Wales. The reality is that local authorities across Wales apply tight controls around eligibility, and there's always a need to follow the correct process to ensure that housing needs are properly assessed.

The Government has pledged to establish a new national development body and social housing enabler, Unnos. How will the success or failure of Unnos be measured? This is on top of the new-style Welsh Development Agency, and it would be good to know in what way the establishment of quangos cuts bureaucracy and boosts our economy.

There's a shortage of housing available for renting. There's an even greater shortage of housing available at affordable rents. The long-term solution is to build more social housing, especially council housing. I have supported rent controls and the return of rent officers for privately rented properties. But we now have a new, very serious problem, Airbnb, which is taking properties out of the private rented sector.

The Conservatives support the target in principle, but are concerned about the accuracy of government figures on this. They also support a ban on HMOs being used to house people who’ve entered the UK illegally.

While the ambition to increase the supply of social housing is absolutely welcomed, your written statement confirms that acquired properties will count towards the 20,000 homes target, alongside new-build developments. Now, many people will hear this announcement and assume it means 20,000 newly built social homes. However, by including the acquisitions, the target appears to rely in part on existing properties already within Wales's housing stock, rather than wholly on the creation of new homes.

We call for reform of social housing eligibility rules where needed, while protecting the rights of British and Irish citizens and those covered by the withdrawal agreement. We call for action against the use of HMOs to accommodate those who are unlawfully present in the United Kingdom, including those who have arrived illegally. Those are measures that can actually be implemented—they are legally sound, they are proportionate and they address legitimate public concerns without descending into gesture politics.

Green MSs support the principle of widening access to social housing, and reject any idea of restricting it based on nationality if need is proven.

The situation in some HMOs isn't ideal. That doesn't take anything away from the fact that everyone deserves a place to live—a safe, secure and warm place to live. Due to the lack of social homes that so many of our colleagues have mentioned, people are stuck in the cheapest, inadequate private housing options. And Reform are disgracefully arguing again that we need to look after our own—what do the words even mean—while ignoring the fundamental problem that there are not enough good-quality, affordable homes for everyone who needs one.

Jane Dodds hasn’t said anything on this specifically.

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Who is responsible?

Sian Gwenllian MS

Local Government & Housing Minister

What have ministers said?

The (October 2026) Reform motion calls for a restriction on access to social housing on the grounds of nationality. We cannot, of course, support that proposal. Social housing is allocated on the basis of housing need among those who are legally eligible. It's not allocated on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, or place of birth. Legislation already controls the right to social housing. Immigration status and legal residence are already key considerations by which to determine someone's eligibility. It's only people who have the right to remain who are eligible for housing support and social housing.

On the delivery towards the target of 20,000, I am really pleased that the last Government, working in partnership with the RSLs and with the local authorities, really did manage to push that target forward. You didn't quite make it, but I understand that, by the end of this year, we will have reached 20,000. That is a great place for us to be starting. We are more ambitious in trying to have a target that is for four years rather than five, but there is a pipeline of projects coming through, and I do say 'thank you' for pushing that on during the last Senedd.

The establishment of Unnos is all about freeing up the building of social housing; it's about finding new and innovative ways of delivering….We are clear that we want to streamline and make more effective the process of delivering social housing. We've committed to delivering at least 20,000 new social homes by 2030 and that is what the Minister is already setting out to do.

What's being done about this?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What have the Senedd's Committees said?

Nothing has been discussed yet.

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Relevant Votes

Date	Motion Number	Subject	Binding Vote?	Votes For	Votes Against	Absent/No Vote	Outcome
07/10/26	NDM9313	As amended	No	51	37	6	AGREED
07/10/26	NDM9313	Amendment – Licensing is a matter for local councils	No	51	37	6	AGREED
07/10/26	NDM9313	Welsh Government should ban foreign nationals from HMOs & social housing	No	31	57	6	REJECTED