Additional affordable housing provision: quality report

These statistics provide information on the number of additional affordable housing units delivered across Wales each year.

The statistics are based on the long-established TAN 2 definition of affordable housing. They cover all additional affordable housing units delivered through new build, purchase, acquisition, leasing or conversion of existing dwellings. The figures measure additions to the affordable housing stock and do not take account of losses through demolitions or sales.

The release also includes information on progress against Welsh Government housing commitments. These commitments use different definitions the TAN 2 statistics.

As well as the detailed analysis shown within the annual release, data for local authorities and National Parks are published on StatsWales.

Affordable housing refers to housing that is accessible to households who cannot afford market housing, both on first occupation and subsequently. It is defined in Technical Advice Note (TAN) 2: Planning and Affordable Housing (2006).

Affordable housing includes:

• social rented housing provided by local authorities and registered social landlords (RSLs)
• intermediate housing where prices or rents are above social rent levels but below market levels

The official statistics include additional affordable housing units provided under schemes which may provide for stair-casing to full ownership. This is only if there are secure arrangements in place to ensure the recycling of capital receipts to provide replacement affordable housing.

The additional affordable housing figures also include housing units leased for more than one year to provide accommodation for homeless families. These units do not fully meet the TAN 2 definition in relation to the subsequent occupation once the lease has expired.

Additional affordable housing figures include units delivered through planning obligations, including section 106 agreements associated with market housing developments.

Additional affordable housing can be delivered by registered social landlord, local authorities, and private sector providers (referred to as ‘others’).

Welsh Government housing commitments

The official statistics presented in the release are based on the TAN 2 definition of affordable housing. However Welsh Government commitments are based on different definitions.

Commitment to deliver 20,000 additional social homes by 2030

On 13 July 2026, the Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning published a Written Statement setting out the scope of the Welsh Government’s target to deliver 20,000 additional social homes by 2030.

This commitment was reaffirmed in the Welsh Government Programme for government 2026 to 2030.

Future editions of the statistical release will include the progress made by the government towards this target.

Commitment to deliver 20,000 new low-carbon homes for rent in the social sector during 2021 to 2026

The Programme for Government published by the previous government in June 2021 (UK Government Web Archive) and updated in December 2021, along with the then Minister for Climate Change’s Written Statement on Social Housing in Wales (15 June 2021), committed to delivering 20,000 new low carbon homes for rent within the social sector during the 2021 to 2026 government term.

The delivery period for this commitment was 1 April 2021 to 30 April 2026. This differs slightly from the reporting period for these official statistics, which are collected on a financial-year basis (1 April to 31 March).

This is the final statistical release that will report against that target.

To measure progress, homes for social rent, intermediate rent and shared ownership are included. Shared equity homes are excluded.

The figures also include housing units leased for more than one year to accommodate homeless households, even though they do not fully meet the TAN 2 definition.

The data collected doesn’t capture information on carbon levels. However, all homes counted towards the target are required to meet relevant Welsh Government housing quality and energy efficient standards.

New build homes and conversions receiving grant funding must meet the relevant standards in force at the time of delivery.

Currently, this is the Welsh Development Quality Requirements (WDQR) 2021 and Welsh Housing Quality Standards (WHQS) 2023. This requires social landlords to meet the standard of EPC A and not use fossil fuel fired boilers to provide domestic hot water and space heating. Homes are also required to be safe and secure and meet specific space standards. Homes started before the introduction of the WDQR 2021 were required to meet the previous Development Quality Requirements (DQR) standard.

For properties purchased on the open market or new properties purchased directly from developers, a hierarchical approach is taken so that housing standards are followed. Properties must meet one of the following criteria:

• WDQR 2021 at the point of purchase
• WHQS 2023 at the point of purchase
• be capable of meeting either WHQR 2021 or WHQS 2023 within 10 years of purchase
• if the property cannot meet WHQS 2023 within 10 years, it can be purchased and used for a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 10 years (after this time it must be sold on the open market with proceeds reinvested in social housing)

WHQS 2023 includes requirements to ensure properties are affordable to heat and have minimal environmental impact.

Inclusion of Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme (TACP) voids

In May 2025, the then Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government accepted a recommendation from the Affordable Housing Taskforce that social housing voids funded by the Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme (TACP) should be treated the same as acquisitions.

As a result, TACP funded voids are included in reporting against the target. The TACP started in 2022.

Historical context: 2016 to 2021 housing target

In September 2016, the 2016 to 2021 Welsh Government announced the Programme ‘Taking Wales Forward 2016 to 2021’. This included a commitment to work in partnership to deliver an extra 20,000 affordable homes during 2016 to 2021. ‘Taking Wales Forward 2016 to 2021’ included supporting construction of more than 6,000 homes through the Help to Buy scheme.

In February 2018 two new schemes were introduced, Rent to Own – Wales and Shared Ownership – Wales. These aimed to offer home ownership to households who can afford the monthly mortgage payments but do not have the level of deposit normally required to purchase a home. These were included in the 2016 to 2021 target.

This information is used to look at trends in the provision of additional affordable housing units over time. This information is used to summarise the progress made towards the previous government’s target to deliver 20,000 new low-carbon homes for rent in the social sector.

Local authorities and National Parks use the information for:

• monitoring local affordable housing delivery targets
• effective cross-authority working on Affordable Housing issues
• accurate benchmarking
• evidencing how housing demand is being met locally
• assessing future requirement and need in order to plan and allocate resources effectively

More generally the information is used for:

• monitoring housing trends
• policy development
• advice to ministers
• informing debate in the Senedd and beyond
• geographic profiling, comparisons and benchmarking

There is a variety of users of these statistics including national and local government, researchers, academics and students.

Strengths

• The information is processed and published frequently and in an ordered manner so users can see the statistics when they are current and of greatest interest.
• The data has undergone a thorough validation and quality assurance process.
• Outputs have a clear focus on Wales and have been developed to meet the internal and external user need in Wales.
• Detailed statistics are provided via our StatsWales website at local authority level.
• The ‘Planned’ data shown in this release is based on information provided by local authorities and covers all planned additions from all providers for their local authority area.

Limitations

• The information includes units leased to provide accommodation for homeless families where the lease extends over 1 year (which do not fully conform to TAN 2).
• Because of the devolved administrations and differing policy, there is less scope for direct UK comparisons (see ‘Coherence’ later in the document).

Data collection

The figures shown in this Statistical Release are based on information collected via annual statistical returns. These statistical returns are completed by local authorities, registered social landlords and National Park authorities in Wales. Before this data collection was introduced, data providers helped develop both the forms and the guidance by attending three regional events. These events ensured that data providers fully understood the guidance and provided information on a consistent basis.

Local authorities, National Park authorities and registered social landlords are notified of the data collection exercise timetable in advance. This gave local authorities, National Park authorities and registered social landlords time to collate their information and report any problems. There is guidance in the spreadsheet, which assists users when completing the forms.

Copies of the current additional affordable housing data collection forms are available.

During 2025 to 2026, data were collected from the 22 local authorities (LAs), 3 national park authorities (NPAs) and all Welsh registered social landlords (RSLs). This covered additional affordable housing across all tenures. Local authorities also provide data for private sector (‘other’) providers who have delivered units within their local authority area.

The data were collected to determine how many additional affordable homes were delivered during the 2025 to 2026 financial year. The data also includes how many were planned for delivery in the 2026 to 2027 financial year. The ‘planned’ official statistics shown in this release is based on information provided by local authorities and includes units planned by LAs, RSLs and ‘other’ providers.

The figures in this release are based on additional affordable housing units and do not take account of any reduction of affordable housing stock.

The data collection identified affordable homes/units provided through different tenures (social rented, intermediate rented and shared equity). It also includes whether the units were delivered:

• with capital grant funding (e.g. Social Housing Grant [SHG], Vibrant and Viable Places, Welsh Housing Partnership (WHO) and the Housing Finance Grant (HFG)
• on affordable housing exception sites or through planning obligations (Section 106 agreements)
• on local authority and other public sector land
• inside or outside National Park areas

For the purposes of this data collection, housing provided through the following schemes and initiatives has been counted.

• General Needs including Homebuy
• Vulnerable Households and Extra Care
• Mortgage Rescue
• Section 106 New Build Units (committed and windfall)
• Affordable Housing Exception Site Policy (inc. Community Land Trusts [CLTs])
• Empty Homes initiatives
• Leasing Schemes (leases of more than one year)
• Shared Ownership – Wales

Additional affordable housing units are recorded as being delivered through planning obligations or on affordable housing exception sites, irrespective of when planning permission was granted. Those additional affordable housing units delivered or granted planning permission through planning obligations may or may not be on affordable housing exception sites.

Since 2011 to 2012, local authorities provide information on the number of additional affordable housing units delivered on land made available by other public sector bodies. The land must have been made available within the last five years. Local authorities also report the number delivered on local authority land. The affordable units may or may not have been provided by means of a section 106 planning agreement. The land may have been sold at market value, at a discount, or transferred at nil cost. The other public sector bodies included are listed in the glossary section of this release.

Validation and verification

Individual local authorities and RSLs are responsible for providing high quality data. The Welsh Government data collection team are responsible for validating and undertaking reasonable checks on this data in order to ensure that the data meet the requirements for ‘national statistics’. The Welsh Government housing statistics team are responsible for the quality assurance of the analysis in the outputs.

The information is collected annually via Excel spreadsheets which are downloaded from the Objective Connect file transfer website. Objective Connect provides a secure method for users to submit data. There is guidance in the spreadsheet, which assists users on completing the form. The spreadsheets allow respondents to validate some data before sending the spreadsheet to the Welsh Government.

Examples of validation checks within the forms include cross checks with other relevant tables and checks to ensure data is logically consistent. Respondents are also given an opportunity to include contextual information where large changes have occurred. For example, data items changing by more than 10% compared to the previous year. This enables some data cleansing at source and minimises follow up queries.

On receipt of the data collection forms, the data collection team carry out further validation and verification checks, for example:

• common sense check for any missing/incorrect data without any explanation
• arithmetic consistency checks
• cross checks against the data for the previous year
• cross checks with other relevant data collections
• thorough tolerance checks
• verification that data outside of tolerances is actually correct
• a series of validation steps to ensure that the data is correct and consistent

The data collection team work closely with the different types of data providers to ensure the information provided is accurate and on a consistent basis. They also check that the data is consistent with the number of new build units reported during the past year and resolve any queries with landlords. If there is a validation error, the local authority, national park authority or registered social landlord is contacted to seek resolution. If they do not receive a response within a reasonable timeframe, they apply imputation to improve data quality. They will inform the organisation and explain how the data has amended or imputed.

The data collection team compare data provided by local authorities and registered social landlords. Where there are discrepancies, they work with the data providers to align the figures. In a small number of cases, data providers are unable to reconcile their data within the publication timeframe. In these cases, they use combined figures from RSLs, and any local authority or private developer activity. The combined figures make the final total for the local authority area. We ensure landlords are informed when this approach is taken. Additionally, local authorities, national parks authorities and Welsh RSLs also work together to ensure the accuracy of information provided.

In tables where figures have been rounded, the sum of the individual figures may not equal the total shown.

Publication

Once the data has been finalised, the release is compiled and key points and commentary are drafted. The release is independently checked and a final sense check is carried out by the relevant statistician prior to publication on the website.

Standards

The statistics that are prepared adhere to recognised professional standards. They are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics independently under the responsibility of the Welsh Government Chief Statistician.

National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.

All official statistics should comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice for Statistics. They are awarded National Statistics status following an assessment by the UK Statistics Authority’s regulatory arm. The UK Statistics Authority considers whether the statistics meet the highest standards of Code compliance, including the value they add to public decisions and debate.

It is Welsh Government’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected of National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the UK Statistics Authority promptly. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

The continued designation of these statistics as National Statistics was confirmed in July 2019 following a compliance check by the Office for Statistics Regulation (Office for Statistics Regulation). Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:

• within the quality report we have included more detail in relation to our knowledge of the quality assurance processes carried out by data providers and have also provided more detail in relation to overall responsibility for the quality management process
• added additional terms of the release glossary
• referenced the cross-government work on affordable housing
• we have enhanced trustworthiness by reviewing and reducing pre-release access

This release has been scored against the UK Statistics Authority Administrative Data Quality Assurance matrix. The matrix is the UK Statistics Authority regulatory standard for the quality assurance of administrative data. The Standard recognises the increasing role that administrative data are playing in the production of official statistics. It clarifies what producers of official statistics should do to assure themselves of the quality of these data. The toolkit that supports the UK Statistics Authority regulatory standard provides helpful guidance to statistical producers. The toolkit includes the practices they can adopt to assure the quality of the data they receive and sets out the standards for assessing statistics against the Code of Practice for Statistics.

How we have assessed this release

• Operational context and administrative data collection (A2: enhanced assurance): We provide information on the policy context within the statistical release, including a description of current government targets and funding programmes (see section on policy and operational within this document and the statistical release for further information).
• Communication with data supply partners (A2: enhanced assurance):  We have established an effective mode of communication with our data suppliers (see section on data collection for a description of how we communicate with data providers).
• Quality assurance principles, standards and checks applied by data suppliers (A1: basic assurance): we have broad knowledge of data suppliers QA checks (see section on validation and verification).
• Producer’s quality assurance investigations and documentation (A2: enhanced assurance):  we provide information on our quality assurance checks and provide guidance on the strengths and limitations of the data (see section on validation and verification and statistical release).

We consider the affordable housing statistics to be of medium data quality concern and of medium public interest as there is wide user and media interest. We are confident that the scores are appropriate according to the toolkit, both in terms of the data quality concerns and public interest level.

Welsh housing statistics adhere to the Welsh Government’s Statistical Quality Management Strategy, and this is in line with the European Statistical System’s six dimensions of quality, as listed in principle 4 of the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Details of the six dimensions, and how we adhere to them, are provided below.

Relevance

The degree to which the statistical product meets user needs for both coverage and content.

The data in this statistical release form the basis of evidence on affordable housing provision in Wales. This evidence is used by the Welsh Government, local authorities, and other housing organisations. They can use it to monitor trends in the provision of additional affordable housing units over time. Other interests and uses of this data are outlined above.

We actively review all our outputs and welcome feedback.

Accuracy

The 'planned' figures are data providers’ best estimates and therefore may change when reported as 'delivered'.  As an indication of the accuracy of previous official statistics estimates, the number of additional affordable housing units ‘delivered’ in 2025 to 2026 was 3,865. This was 10% lower than the 4,202 units that had been reported as ‘planned’ for delivery during 2025 to 2026.

The ‘planned’ official statistics shown in this release is based on information provided by local authorities and includes units planned by local authorities, RSLs and ‘other’ providers.

Revisions

This release contains the final data for 2025 to 2026 financial year. However sometimes local authorities submit revised data in future years. If this happens, we will update the information in the following year’s statistical release.

There is one revision to previously published data:

• additional affordable housing units from other providers for 2016 to 2017 has revised from 84 to 48

This was due to a system error within Welsh Government.

We follow the Welsh Government’s statistical revisions policy.

Timeliness and punctuality

Timeliness refers to the lapse of time between publication and the period to which the data refer. Punctuality refers to the time lag between the actual and planned dates of publication.

All outputs adhere to the Code of Practice for Official Statistics by pre-announcing the date of publication through the Upcoming pages on the Statistics for Wales website. Furthermore, should the need arise to postpone an output this would follow the Welsh Government's revisions, errors and postponements arrangements.

We publish releases as soon as practical after the relevant time period.

Accessibility and clarity

Accessibility is the ease with which users are able to access the data, also reflecting the format(s) in which the data are available and the availability of supporting information. Clarity refers to the quality and sufficiency of the metadata, illustrations and accompanying advice.

Affordable housing statistics for Wales are published in an accessible, orderly, pre-announced manner on the Welsh Government website at 9:30am on the day of publication.

We aim to inform known key users of the publication of the statistics when they are published. An e-mail is circulated to the Housing Information Group.

All releases are available to download for free. More detailed data are also published at the same time on the StatsWales website. This can be manipulated online or downloaded into spreadsheets for use offline.

In our outputs, we aim to provide a balance of commentary, charts and maps where relevant. The aim is to ‘tell the story’ in the output, without the report becoming overly long.

We aim to use Plain English in our outputs and all outputs adhere to the Welsh Government accessibility policy. Furthermore, all our headlines are published in Welsh and English.

We regularly peer review our outputs internally.

Further information regarding the statistics can be obtained by contacting the relevant staff detailed on the release or via stats.housing@gov.wales.

A full set of data including information by individual local authority and individual RSL back to 2007 to 2008 is available to download from our StatsWales interactive website.

Comparability

The degree to which data can be compared over time and domain.

For ‘planned’ and ‘proposed’ data prior to what is published on StatsWales, they may be found on local authority websites. As there was no validation of this data with RSL data we advise caution when looking at these estimates. Since 2012 to 2013 RSLs are not required to report on the number of additional affordable housing units planned for following years. The ‘planned’ and ‘proposed’ data shown in this release is based on information provided by local authorities. It covers all planned delivery by all providers in their local authority area.

Coherence

The degree to which data that are derived from different sources or methods, but which refer to the same phenomenon, are similar.

The Welsh Government publish separate statistics on new house building. That data is based on the reports of local authority building inspectors and the National House Building Council (NHBC). Information is not collected from other smaller inspectors which is likely to lead to an under-count of the total number of new dwellings. It is sometimes difficult for building control officers who record the data to identify the intended final tenure of the property. This may lead to an under-count of social sector new house building and an over-count for the private sector. As such, there may be some apparent disparity between new build statistics and affordable housing statistics. Therefore, the tenure data of new build statistics should be treated with caution.

In January 2026, the 2021 to 2026 Welsh Government published estimates of additional housing need split by tenure (affordable and market). The estimates were available at a national and regional level. Separately, local authorities assess their own housing need through Local Housing Market Assessments (LHMAs). Local Housing Market Assessments provide evidence for a local authority’s Local Development Plan (LDP) process and Local Housing Strategies, as well as help inform their capital funding requirements. The process was developed to provide a consistent approach and basis for all local authorities.

Management information

Due to the nature of data collection, there is a time lag between the end of the reporting period and the publication of the accredited official statistics.

To monitor housing delivery linked to government funded programmes such as the Social Housing Grant, Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme and RSL Loans scheme, estimates of homes delivered are collected at specific points throughout the year. This information is referred to as management information. 
To complement the accredited official statistics and provide more timely insight into housing delivery, this release includes management information on:

• the number of additional social homes expected to be delivered in 2026 to 2027
• the number of additional social homes delivered by 30 September 2026
• how planned delivery estimates for 2025 to 2026 compared with the number of houses delivered in that year, as recorded in the official statistics

Management information generally forecasts higher delivery figures than those reported in the end of year official statistics. For the 2025 to 2026 financial year the management information indicated delivery of 4,800 homes. This was 24% higher than the number delivered, as reported by the accredited official statistics.

A quality assurance exercise was conducted in September 2025 using the UK Statistics Authority’s Administrative Data Quality Assurance Toolkit. The exercise was to ensure the robustness of void data included in the measurement of the previous government target. Two RSLs and two local authorities were selected by the Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme (TACP) for interview. These interviews explored various aspects of data quality, including:

• how organisations defined voids eligible for TACP funding (e.g. vacancy length, condition, tenure)
• timing and frequency of data recording and updates (e.g. whether it is updated through a live system or set time periods
• errors such as whether a unit might be recorded as a TACP void but not brought back into use, or whether double counting could occur between RSLs and LAs
• potential for previously delivered affordable homes to be reclassified as TACP voids
• validation processes and sign-off procedures

Findings indicate that a robust quality assurance process is in place for data on void homes funded through TACP, with information captured at multiple stages. For example, the expressions of interest form, grant applications, and scheme uploads to the portal. These are recorded at the individual scheme level and undergo validation to ensure accuracy and completeness. There remains a small possibility that a home previously reported as delivered since the start of affordable housing records in 2007 to 2008 could be included again. However, safeguards such as checks on funding history during grant applications help ensure properties are accurately classified.  It is also very unlikely that the same property would be both recorded as delivered and then counted as a void within the same government term, thereby being double counted towards the target.

Strengths

• The management information collected is to support monitoring of government funding housing delivery.
• The Information is updated throughout the year providing a timely estimate of housing delivery.
• The information is drawn from a wide range of government-funded housing schemes, providing a broad picture of delivery activity.
• Improvements in the process for collecting management information have reduced the risk of error and improved data completeness.
• Voids data is captured at multiple stages, enabling record-level tracking with checks to minimise errors.

Limitations

• Management information does not undergo the same level of validation as official statistics. e
• As the management information is drawn from a live system, figures change when RSLs and LAs update scheme details. This can cause month-to-month fluctuations and limit in-year comparability.
• While progress has been made, work continues to ensure full and consistent coverage across all funded programmes within the management information system.
• Although highly unlikely, there is a small risk that a previously delivered affordable home could later become a void and receive funding again through the TACP scheme. Safeguards are in place to prevent this, and no such cases have been identified within schemes funded by current programmes.

We are exploring how we might make greater use of management information in the future, and whether there is a need to maintain two distinct data collections and sets of figures.

National Park Authorities (NPAs)

Bannau Brycheiniog ( Brecon Beacons) NPA extends into areas of:

• Blaenau Gwent
• Caerphilly
• Carmarthenshire
• Merthyr Tydfil
• Monmouthshire
• Neath Port Talbot
• Powys
• Rhondda Cynon Taf
• Torfaen

Pembrokeshire Coast NPA extends into areas of Pembrokeshire only.

Eryri’n (Snowdonia) NPA extends into areas of Conwy and Gwynedd.

Local authority groupings used in the charts and maps

Rural authorities

• Isle of Anglesey
• Gwynedd
• Conwy
• Denbighshire
• Powys
• Ceredigion
• Pembrokeshire
• Carmarthenshire
• Monmouthshire

Urban authorities

• Rhondda Cynon Taff
• Merthyr Tydfil
• Caerphilly
• Blaenau Gwent
• Torfaen
• Flintshire
• Wrexham
• Swansea
• Neath Port Talbot
• Bridgend
• The Vale of Glamorgan
• Cardiff
• Newport

On 6 November 2019, ONS published two reports on affordable housing statistics as part of a UK wide programme of work to improve housing and planning statistics:

• Comparing affordable housing in the UK (ONS), an article making cross-UK comparisons of affordable housing statistics
• Affordable Housing Statistics in the UK (Government Analysis Function), a review of definitions, terminology and the feasibility of harmonising affordable housing statistical definitions

These reports provide detailed information on the definition of affordable housing in each country, the terminology used and a summary of the differences across countries.

Individual country releases

England

England publishes a single statistical release on affordable housing on the GOV.UK website. The latest published data covers 2024 to 2025.

Scotland

The Scottish Government publish an annual report, with quarterly updates, on provision under the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and the Department for Communities publish an annual compendium on housing statistics, which includes data tables relating to changes to social stock.

We always welcome feedback on any of our statistics. Please contact us via email: stats.housing@gov.wales