When is a social home not a social home?

Our Senior Policy and Research Officer, Wendy Dearden, provides clarity on what is included in Welsh Government’s delivery target

At the Bevan Foundation, we believe that the key to getting people moved on from temporary accommodation is to boost the supply of social homes. Social housing is the only tenure that can provide a truly affordable, secure and sustainable housing option for those on the lowest incomes.

What do we mean by social homes?

When we at the Bevan Foundation use the term social homes, we mean dwellings managed by a social landlord – a council or a housing association – which are let at a social rent, regulated by the Welsh Government.

However, social homes are just one of many different tenures that fall under the umbrella term of affordable housing. Also included are:

• intermediate rental homes – these are also managed by a social landlord but the rent levels are higher, being set at local housing allowance levels or 80% of market rents. They are often unaffordable for low-income households.
• low-cost homeownership options – primarily for first-time buyers to make homeownership more affordable. Usual arrangements involve a housing association holding an equity share in the dwelling or a part buy/part rent shared ownership agreement.

You don’t have to look far to hear about the Welsh Government’s ambitions to boost supply. But, whilst there’s much discussion focused on whether targets can be met, there is still much confusion about the type of homes being delivered.

It all starts with the fact that the previous Welsh Government target (2016-2021) was for 20,000 new affordable homes. This included everything under the umbrella, including newly built properties purchased with support from the Help to Buy scheme – a shared equity loan. Just over 23,000 affordable homes were delivered over the 5-year period, only 9,589 of these being homes to be let at a social rent.

The 2021-2026 target is also for 20,000 homes, but this time for new low carbon homes for rent within the social sector. When it was announced, many applauded the seemingly tighter focus on social homes, but perhaps hadn’t appreciated the detail.

What does the target actually include?

Homes “for rent within the social sector” as per the Welsh Government’s definition include any dwelling where rent is paid to a social landlord. So, social homes are in there, but also dwellings let at an intermediate rent and shared ownership. Data for the first two years of the term suggests that 5,775 homes have been delivered under this definition. We estimate that only 4,780 were homes for social rent.

There’s a further layer of confusion. The target uses the term new homes, but reporting figures include all additional housing units, whether through new build, purchase, acquisition, leasing or conversion of existing dwellings. It also does not reflect any dwellings lost during the year through demolitions or sales.

The devil really is in the detail

In our recent evidence to the Local Government and Housing Committee, we argued that, at least in the short term, the delivery target should focus on social homes. All affordable housing tenures have a much-needed place in our housing system. However, right now, we need to address the blockages and get people out of temporary accommodation.

We also need greater insight into how many homes are being removed from the housing stock of social landlords, as additional homes into the system are only part of the story. 

The Bevan Foundation will continue to look into this as part of our new housing research. One thing that is is clear, however, is that if there is a need for everyone working in Welsh housing to be consistently using the same terminology if it is to be possible to measure progress towards solving the housing crisis.