Welsh affordable housing hits record 3,865 homes as Section 106 delivery slips 7%

Wales delivered 3,865 additional affordable homes in 2025 to 2026, the highest annual total since records began, according to Welsh Government statistics that the Home Builders Federation (HBF) says show private developers supplied 31% of new build affordable homes.

The Welsh Government said the total was 6% up on the previous year and the highest since data was first recorded in 2007 to 2008. It followed a 2024 to 2025 figure of 3,643 units, which was itself a record and a 12% rise on the year before.

HBF, responding to the release, said 823 of the homes were delivered by the private sector through Section 106 planning obligations. It said this amounted to 21% of all affordable delivery and 31% of new build affordable homes once acquisitions and conversions of existing properties are excluded.

Catherine Williams, Planning Director for HBF, said: "Private home builders are instrumental in achieving the Welsh Government's ambition to deliver more social and affordable homes". She added that "overall housing delivery remains well below the level required to meet Wales's housing needs".

The Section 106 figures

The Welsh Government's own release records the 823 units as homes "delivered through planning obligations (Section 106 agreements), including within national parks", without attributing them to a sector. It said the number fell 7% compared with the previous year.

The share of affordable homes that were new build also dropped. The Welsh Government said 69% of affordable homes delivered in 2025 to 2026 were new build, excluding "other" providers, down from 76% in 2024 to 2025. Capital grant funding supported 83% of all units in the latest year.

Measure	2024 to 2025	2025 to 2026
Additional affordable units	3,643	3,865
New build share (%)	76	69

HBF said that over the past five years Section 106 obligations had delivered 35% of all new build affordable homes in Wales, an average of 860 a year. The federation has also said that 45% of affordable homes in Wales were delivered through Section 106 agreements between 2021 and 2023.

Registered social landlords remained the largest providers, delivering 74% of all additional affordable housing in 2025 to 2026, or 2,859 units, according to the Welsh Government.

Progress against the target

Under the separate definition used for its 2021 to 2026 target of 20,000 social homes, the Welsh Government counted 3,779 units in 2025 to 2026, of which 3,293 were for social rent. It said the latest figures bring cumulative delivery towards the target between April 2021 and March 2026 to 17,236 units. HBF's response uses the 3,865 figure throughout.

The current Programme for Government includes a commitment to deliver 20,000 additional social homes by 2030, the Welsh Government said.

Delivery in 2025 to 2026 came in below what councils had planned. At the end of the previous year, local authorities estimated 4,202 affordable units would be delivered in 2025 to 2026, against the 3,865 recorded.

HBF argued that Section 106 homes are typically provided with limited or no direct government subsidy, unlike those delivered directly by registered social landlords or local authorities, and that affordable housing delivery is tied to the overall level of market housing construction.

Alongside £230m for affordable housing, HBF said planning agreements in 2025 to 2026 delivered £146m in spending in local shops and £32m for infrastructure, including around £14m for new and improved schools.

Planning and Help to Buy

Williams said HBF was encouraged by the Welsh Government's commitment to reducing the complexity of the planning system and by the extension of Help to Buy Wales.

The Welsh Government announced on 28 July 2026 that Help to Buy Wales would continue until 31 March 2027, giving up to 400 more households the chance to buy a new build home with a smaller deposit. Siân Gwenllian, Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, said at the time: "This government is committed to the principle that every family deserves a safe and affordable home in which to live."

HBF has also welcomed the Welsh Government's affordable housing taskforce report, saying several of its recommendations reflected the federation's own proposals to reduce delays.

Looking ahead, local authorities plan 4,034 affordable housing units for delivery in 2026 to 2027, according to the Welsh Government release.