Quality and Quantity

Just a short note to highlight the important Senedd Local Government and Housing follow-up inquiry in to social housing supply.  On 21st January 2026, there were hearings in which, in essence, the position was put that the Welsh Housing Quality Standard requirements and skills shortages were affecting the supply of housing.  Ther eis a good summary in Inside Housing.  It is very clear that the 20k target of new homes will not be met in this Senedd period.  The CIH Cymru noted that some of their members felt that “the level of funding allocated to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard and developing new homes is insufficient”, and felt that the Building Safety Bill will impede new building.  We know about the systemic and structural issues, but Community Housing Cymru also note, “unaligned policy objectives relating to housing quality standards and environmental regulations are actively undermining delivery of much needed additional social homes”.   They go on to say, “The comprehensive cost of WHQS is prohibitively expensive, we do not have a realistic route to delivery, and not all requirements mandated by the standard are those of paramount importance to tenants” (using an example of the EPC A move not being affordable).

It might be said for landlord organisations that “they would say that, wouldn’t they”; but, as Shelter Cymru point out, one can expect that “at times when RSLs are facing significant financial pressures, they
are likely to prioritise meeting their legal responsibilities over other areas”.  And the Bevan Foundation say, “For many social landlords, investing in their stock to reach the required standards will need
to become their priority and new development rates are likely to fall as a result”.  In a call for prgamatism, they go on to say

We believe that it is time to reconsider the WHQS standards and consider what is needed now to boost social housing delivery significantly. It is very hard to justify to a homeless family living in one hotel room that homes are not being brought into the social housing stock because , for example, a bedroom is a few centimetres too small.

Quite.