The new Welsh Government‘s first supplementary budget for 2026/27 includes an additional £20 million in capital investment to support the delivery of more social homes in Wales.
Plaid Cymru won a historic majority in the Welsh elections earlier this year, and promised to put housing at the heart of their leadership. As part of this commitment, the party pledged to legislate a right to adequate housing in Welsh law and build at least 20,000 new social homes by 2030. The party’s plans to deliver this includes Unnos, a national development agency that will seek to optimise social housing delivery in Wales and offset the mounting pressure on waiting lists and temporary accommodation. The agency will work with Local authorities across Wales on matters such as supply chains and planning applications to open the door to increased delivery.
Plaid Cymru’s additional £20M takes the total level of capital funding for additional social homes to £465.9 million, although analysis supported by CIH Cymru has suggested £671M per annum would be needed to meet their 20,000 new social homes target.
CIH Cymru have been supportive of the new funds, although troubled by the omission of any additional decarbonisation funding. Wales has the oldest housing stock in Western Europe, and just over a quarter of homes were built before 1919, and CIH Cymru has pointed out that the £96M of current funding allocation won’t go far enough.
CIH Cymru director Matt Dicks said: “Wales is facing a deep and ongoing structural housing emergency – behind these figures are people, families and children who urgently need the security of a safe and affordable home. Currently, 90,000 households, representing 170,000 individuals including 34,000 children, are waiting for a social home. In 2024/25, one in every hundred households became homeless and, in March 2026, 10,509 individuals were living in temporary accommodation while 143 people were sleeping on our streets.
“We warmly welcome the uplift in funding for social housing development, which will support registered social landlords to deliver more of the homes Wales so urgently needs. However, building new homes must go hand in hand with investing in the homes people already live in, ensuring they are affordable, sustainable and fit for the future. That is why it is disappointing that decarbonisation funding has not increased. We urge Welsh Government to provide sufficient funding for both new supply and decarbonisation so that, together, we can deliver safe, sustainable and affordable homes for communities across Wales.”
Whilst the expansion of social housing stock is necessary more than ever to reduce reliance on temporary accommodation and homelessness levels, the UK’s existing housing stock must be brought to standard. The UK’s housing stock is similarly aged to that of Wales, and many of these properties are in need of urgent repair. This tug of war between expansion an restoration of the housing stock has grown to be one of the most significant challenges for political authorities and housing providers alike.
