Thousands waiting for homes in Welsh county as hundreds of houses remain empty

Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter

More than 1,800 homes are standing empty in one Welsh county despite thousands of households waiting for somewhere to live.

In Carmarthenshire 3,561 households are on the council’s housing waiting list while 1,805 properties had been vacant for at least six months at the end of March.

If all of the properties were occupied, 4,061 people would have a roof over their head based on average occupancy levels in Wales of 2.25 people per household.

Carmarthen is the fourth most populated county in Wales and has the third highest number of empty homes that are chargeable for council tax purposes behind Swansea and Rhondda Cynon Taf, according to Welsh Government figures.

Homes can be unoccupied for long periods for financial, legal, health and other reasons. Owners have an incentive not to leave properties empty for too long in the county however, as there are council tax premiums for homes that are unoccupied and unfurnished for over a year.

Councillor Terry Davies raised concerns over some private sector homes in his Llanelli ward being empty “for decades” and that some homes might be going under the radar. He said he was keen to ensure they were on the council’s list.

Council officer Gareth Williams said his team was notified of homes which had been empty for six months by council tax colleagues, and that a dataset of such properties by ward was being explored for councillors for them to feed into.

Mr Williams said the council intervened when empty properties attracted anti-social behaviour or were a public health risk.

Taking Action

The council wants to reduce the number of empty homes and has been doing so with measures including working with families of owners who are in care, buying empty homes, administering loans and grants, and taking action if a property is in a bad condition.

The committee report said a lot of work was done behind the scenes and that 246 empty private homes were brought back into use during 2025-26 through direct intervention, many more than had been expected.

It said the housing team tasked with this work prioritised advice and engagement but that owners who didn’t respond or make meaningful progress would be subject to enforcement action.