HBF launches blueprint to tackle Wales housing crisis

The Home Builders Federation has today (September 4) published a blueprint to address Wales’ “chronic undersupply” of housing ahead of the Senedd election in 2026.

The report, Increasing housing supply in Wales, is a manifesto which sets out 12 key essential actions for the next Welsh government to tackle the nation’s housing shortage. HBF pointed out that Wales was facing a 28% shortfall in housing supply against the Welsh Government's 2019 estimate of housing need – “a gap that would take two years to close at the current rate of building”.

In 2019, the Welsh government published Future Wales: The National Plan 2040, estimating that 7,400 new homes would need to be delivered per year to address both historic and future housing needs. But HBF said that on average, only 5,300 homes were built annually over the past five years.

This was due to “significant barriers”, including out-of-date local development plans (LDPs), delays at each stage of the planning process, the increasing regulatory burden and policy costs.

According to government figures, 2024/25 was the second-lowest year of housing delivery in Wales since records began in 1974. HBF’s analysis shows that local authorities are only achieving, …