According to recent data from ITV News, 43,028 homes in Wales are currently empty with around 40% of those being vacant for over six months.

Rhondda Cynon Taf had the highest number of empty homes (4,195), followed by Swansea (4,054), and Cardiff (3,223).

The numbers have been described by charity Shelter Cymru as a “wasted resource”.

Welsh Conservative Shadow Housing Secretary David Melding said:

“After nearly two decades in government, Welsh Labour have continuously shown that they cannot deliver on housing. They have been consistently unambitious in this area, setting targets that simply do not meet the unprecedented demands that we are facing.

“When there are 40,000 homes lying empty across Wales, surely the Welsh Government could make the smart decision to take action on this. Too add to this, it doesn’t look good for Welsh Labour that four of the top five councils with the most empty houses are Labour-run councils.

“If you consider the fact that only four years ago a report showed that there was 23,000 empty homes in Wales, the reality that that figure has now nearly doubled in such a short period shows that the Welsh Government are asleep at the shovel when it comes to housing.

“It’s about time that the Welsh Government started to take the housing crisis seriously before a generation of people find themselves unable to buy a home of their own”.

ENDS/