HBF outlines urgent interventions to increase the delivery of much-needed housing and support local investment across the country

Ahead of the 2026 Senedd election, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has published its manifesto for the next Welsh Government, setting out how to address Wales’ deepening housing crisis.

The report, Increasing housing supply in Wales, released today, outlines 12 essential actions for incoming policymakers to address the nation’s worrying undersupply of homes.

Future Wales: The National Plan 2040 – a national development framework published by Welsh Government in 2019 - estimated that 7,400 new homes would need to be delivered annually to address both historic and future housing needs. However, an average of just 5,300 homes have been built annually during the last five years as a result of a number of significant barriers, including out-of-date Local Development Plans, delays at all stages of the planning process, and the growing burden of regulation and policy costs.

Government figures show that 2024/25 was the second-lowest year of housing delivery in Wales since records began in 1974. HBF’s analysis reveals that local authorities are, on average, achieving just half of their Local Development Plan targets, with just one local authority in Wales having delivered its annual housing requirement in 2023/24. The nation is therefore 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.

With homeownership increasingly out of reach for younger generations and growing numbers of families forced into temporary accommodation, urgent Government action is needed.

HBF’s plan calls on the next Welsh Government to act on three key priorities:

• Delivering more homes – including setting a national all-tenure target for housing delivery for the next Senedd term
• Making the plan-led system work – including increasing the use of short-form reviews of Local Development Plans and introducing stronger statutory deadlines to replace plans once they expire.
• Supporting home buyers and builders – including an extension of the Help to Buy Wales scheme beyond September 2026 to help first-time buyers and increasing the maximum purchase price in some areas.

Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive at the Home Builders Federation, said: “Today we set out a roadmap for how the next Welsh Government can turn its housing ambitions into action. Against the backdrop of a worsening housing shortage, the number of homes being built continues to fall.

“With the right policy changes, home builders are ready to step up and deliver the homes communities urgently need. The upcoming election is a chance to address the shortcomings of housing policy in Wales.

“Increasing housing supply has the potential to boost Wales’ economic outlook, create jobs, and provide greatly-needed homes.”

For further details, quotes and imagery, contact media@hbf.co.uk

Notes to editors

Recommendations for the next Welsh Government

Delivering more homes

1. Set a national all-tenure target for housing delivery for the next Senedd term.
2. Implement the recommendations of the Welsh Government’s sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) review as soon as possible.
3. Issue standard templates for SAB agreements and Section 278, 38 and 106 agreements.
4. Support SME home builders by requiring Local Development Plans (LDPs) to allocate sites of fewer than 50 units, setting a 50-unit threshold for major developments, and introducing a national scheme of delegation.
5. Ensure that new policy requirements and regulations do not further challenge viability.
6. Inject immediate funding into statutory consultees and SuDS Approval Bodies (SABs) to place them on a sustainable financial footing and minimise delays.
   Making the plan-led system work
7. Enable faster adoption of LDPs by increasing the use of short-form reviews and introducing stronger statutory deadlines for adopting local plans once they expire.
8. Ensure the four Strategic Development Plans (SDPs) are adopted before the end of the next Senedd term.
9. Shift to a stock-based approach for local assessments of housing need, addressing historic under-delivery.
10. Restore Technical Advice Note 1 (TAN1) and enable sustainable, policy-compliant sites to come forward outside of the plan-led system where there is a delay in plan review or a demonstrable shortfall in housing supply.
    Supporting builders and buyers
11. Develop a roadmap for establishing the talent pipeline needed to deliver low-carbon and energy-efficient new housing.
12. Extend the Help to Buy Wales scheme beyond September 2026 to support first-time buyers, and increase the maximum purchase price in some areas.

• A Welsh version of the report is available on the HBF website.