Our views on the supply of social housing

The Bevan Foundation reflects upon what is already known about the challenges in developing more social homes, and where we will provide further insight through our new housing research.

As part of an inquiry into the supply of social housing in Wales, the Senedd’s Housing and Local Government Committee has asked people for their views. The paper asks a range of questions including views on the progress that has been made towards the target of 20,000 social homes, the challenges in increasing supply, and how local communities can be effectively engaged in social housing developments in their areas.

Our key messages for the inquiry are as follows:

• A more tightly focused target, concentrating delivery on homes to be let at a social rent, is needed to address the blockages in our housing system.
• We need greater insight into how many homes are being removed from the social housing stock as additional homes are only part of the story.
• The 20,000 homes delivery target needs to be reviewed and increased due to the cost of living and ongoing housing crisis.
• Welsh Government need to consider alternative approaches to understanding housing need rather than relying on social housing registers.
• For many social landlords, investing in their stock to reach the required standards will need to become their priority. Delivery rates of additional homes are expected to fall as a result.
• The development of affordable, subsidised homes needs subsidy.
• It is simply not practical, let alone ethical, to rely on social rent payments by some of the poorest people in Welsh society to fund the development of new homes.
• There is a lack of joined-up working across the public sector which is preventing social housing delivery at scale.
• We need to explore opportunities for compulsory purchase powers at both a national and community level rather than relying upon action by local authorities.
• The creation of any new funding streams for affordable housing is to be applauded; but we must ensure that there are mechanisms to enable, encourage and monitor spend to get additional homes into the system, rather than more money just sitting in bank accounts.
• The delivery target for social homes focuses on “new” rather than “additional” units, reinforcing the perception that the answer to increasing supply is primarily in newly built properties.
• The purchase of existing private sector properties to increase the social housing stock provides an opportunity to make improvements within the wider housing stock.
• We need a conversation about what can be achieved through the existing privately owned housing stock to provide what is needed most now, and where flexibility and compromise can allow for retrofitting to meet standards later.
• For community groups looking to develop affordable homes themselves, a lack of funding and difficulty in securing land are the greatest barriers.
• We need to explore areas of policy development which strengthen the opportunities for community-led action.

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