A consultation that will help shape how social housing is allocated across Cardiff has opened and residents are being urged to have their say.
Cardiff is still experiencing a Housing Emergency with demands for social housing at an unprecedented high with approximately 10,000 households currently on the city’s housing waiting list. Cardiff Council is inviting the public to share their views on a series of proposed changes designed to make the system fairer and ensure that homes are allocated to those who need them most.
The Council, working in partnership with local housing associations, operates a joint Social Housing Waiting List. Applicants are assessed for both housing need and local connection and are placed into priority bands to help ensure that available properties are allocated fairly, to those with the highest need.
Despite there being around 26,600 social homes in Cardiff, only a small percentage become available to let each year. Over the past three years, the number of annual lets has ranged between 1,248 and 1,680. The shortage is particularly acute for larger family homes, meaning some households wait years for a suitable property.
To address these pressures, the Council is delivering new, high-quality, low-carbon homes, acquiring properties from the open market, bringing empty homes back into use, extending existing homes for larger families, and supporting residents to “rightsize” or access affordable private rentals. Despite this there are not social homes for those that need them, therefore we need to ensure that we are allocating to those that need them the most.
Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, said: “There is a much greater need for social housing in Cardiff than the number of homes available, which unfortunately means many people are waiting a long time for a suitable home. The Council, together with our housing association partners, is building and providing more affordable homes across the city. Even with all this work, there still aren’t enough homes to meet the level of demand. We need to review and amend the allocation scheme to make sure that homes are let to those who need them the most.
“This consultation is an important opportunity for residents to have help shape a system that supports those in greatest need. The Council is committed to ensuring these proposals are informed by the views and experiences of Cardiff residents and stakeholders”
The consultation seeks views on several key proposals, including:
- Creating a new priority band for overcrowded households with additional complex needs: Families who are both overcrowded and face significant challenges (such as disability or health issues) would be given higher priority for rehousing.
- Counting parlour rooms as bedrooms: Additional downstairs living spaces would be recognised as bedrooms for allocation of housing and overcrowding assessments, helping to make best use of available housing stock.
- Raising the age for same-sex bedroom sharing to 25: This would align Cardiff’s policy with other housing services and benefit guidelines, ensuring larger homes are prioritised for families with the greatest need.
- Giving higher priority to households with complex needs who are threatened with homelessness: This would enabling quicker access to permanent social housing and prevent the need to for these households to move into unsuitable temporary accommodation.
- Restricting the waiting list to those with an assessed housing need and a local connection to Cardiff: Only applicants who can demonstrate both housing need and local connection to Cardiff would be eligible to go onto the waiting list.
To take part in the consultation, visit:
Social housing allocation scheme consultation
Consultation closes: 6th April 2026
