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More than 170,000 people in Wales, including 45,000 children, are waiting for homes in Wales(Image: WalesOnline\/Rob Browne)<\/p>\nThe Welsh Government had promised to deliver 20,000 social homes in Wales by next yearMore than 170,000 people in Wales, including 45,000 children, are waiting for homes in Wales(Image: WalesOnline\/Rob Browne)<\/p>\n
More than 170,000 people in Wales including 45,000 children are waiting for homes in Wales. A leading housing charity says the numbers show a “critical shortage” of social homes in Wales.<\/p>\n
Shelter Cymru says last year only 2,600 social homes were delivered across Wales last year and that it would take 35 years to build the homes needed by 94,000 households on waiting lists. The Welsh Government<\/a> has a target of 20,000 homes being built by the end of 2026. As of March 2024, the Welsh Government was less than halfway towards reaching its target to build 20,000 new low carbon social homes for rent between 2021 and 2026. It has since said that it counts some homes that are not new builds and that are not low carbon.<\/p>\n The then-housing minister had said in June 2024 that Welsh Government was “hanging on” to meeting that target.<\/p>\n Shelter Cymru has sent Freedom of Information requests to each of Wales’ 22 councils which shows the highest number of households waiting is in Newport. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here<\/a><\/p>\n Their data shows over half of households waiting for a social home are waiting for a one-bedroom home.<\/p>\n It also shows single-parent families are disproportionately represented on waiting lists for a social home. For children this can have a devastating impact with some trapped in temporary accommodation while others have to live with the daily challenges of homes that are overcrowded, unaffordable, and in some cases filled with damp and mould.<\/a><\/p>\n The breakdown per council of total number of households on waiting lists:<\/strong><\/p>\n Blaenau Gwent<\/a>: 2,768<\/p>\n Bridgend<\/a>: 2,686<\/p>\n Caerphilly<\/a> : 6,113<\/p>\n Cardiff<\/a>: 9,015<\/p>\n Carmarthenshire<\/a>: 5,195<\/p>\n Ceredigion<\/a>: 2,031<\/p>\n Conwy<\/a>: 1,752<\/p>\n Denbighshire<\/a>: 1,887<\/p>\n Flintshire<\/a>: 2,032<\/p>\n Gwynedd<\/a>: 2,394<\/p>\n Isle of Anglesey<\/a>: 824<\/p>\n Merthyr Tydfil: 2,224<\/p>\n Monmouthshire<\/a>: 3,766<\/p>\n Neath <\/a>Port Talbot<\/a>: 4,370<\/p>\n Newport<\/a>: 12,456<\/p>\n Pembrokeshire<\/a>: 5,027<\/p>\n Powys: 4,392<\/p>\n Rhondda<\/a> Cynon Taf: 4,395<\/p>\n Swansea<\/a>: 7,938<\/p>\n