What assessment has the Minister made of figures released from the Office for National Statistics in October 2023 stating that there are around 103,000 truly vacant unoccupied dwellings in Wales?
The ONS estimate of 102,875 truly vacant unoccupied dwellings, is a snapshot of homes that were vacant on Census day (March 2021) only. This means there were no usual residents living in these dwellings and there was no indication of these being used by short-term residents or visitors on Census day. These modelled estimates were calculated using Census 2021 together with administrative data, and include properties that were empty for short periods of time. As it was carried out during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some people, for example, overseas students or those privately renting, may have moved back in with family members, leaving more unoccupied dwellings.
The data provided by the ‘Council Tax Dwellings in Wales, 2024-25’ statistics, which were released on the 18 January 2024, show that there are 22,634 chargeable empty properties (empty for more than 6 months) in Wales.