The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Cymru have published a sector snapshot for the country’s housing sector
The CIH Cymru sector snapshot shows that two-thirds of respondents said their mental health and wellbeing is being negatively impacted by external pressures.
There is also concern that the March 2026 deadline for 20,000 homes is not on track to be met.
The CIH Cymru sector snapshot was carried out in February
The survey was undertaken in February 2025, and was intended to find the views of housing professionals in Wales. The results were published in the TAI 2025 conference at the Vale Resort, Hensol, on 2-3 April.
Despite the concerningly high level of respondents saying their mental health and wellbeing are being impacted, 84% of respondents also stated that they are motivated to continue working in the sector and to make a difference, indicating that the issues lie outside of the workforce and instead with issues such as resources, high workloads, and the skills shortage/ageing workforce.
83% of respondents stated that they are not confident or unsure of the 20,000 new affordable homes target for 2026, but 44% said that the target is necessary to tackling the rise of homelessness in Wales. Some respondents indicated that they felt the support from the Welsh government was lacking in focus.
Welsh housing professionals are asking the government to do more
The report found that the main thing respondents wanted from the government is an increase in funding at 36%, with 21% wanting more input and the government to listen to the sector, 19% wanting more homes built, 9% wanting standards reconsidered, 8% wanting an end to planning constraints, 4% wanting empty homes to be dealt with, and 4% wanting a new housing strategy.
One respondent said: “Stop bringing in well intentioned policies and targets without understanding the full implications on local authorities and housing associations. An example of this was the Renting Homes Act, which was a ‘sledgehammer to crack a nut’ approach. While with good intentions to help customers with rogue independent landlords, the impact on local authorities and housing associations, who are already heavily regulated, was and is major.
Matt Dicks, national director of CIH Cymru said: “It is encouraging to see that the majority of respondents to our survey are motivated to work in housing as they want to help people, make a difference and have a positive impact.
“In order to do that and provide the best service they can, people working in housing need to be supported and adequately resourced. It is time that we not only thought about providing the homes we need but ensuring our workforce is well resourced and supported to deliver the ambition we share with Welsh government of addressing the housing and homelessness emergency in Wales.”
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