The Wealden Housing Strategy establishes that the District is an area of high demand for housing and that affordability is a key issue due to high house prices and the number of people on relatively low incomes. The Council has a strategic objective to regularly assess current and future housing needs across the District and this is achieved through an analysis of the Housing Register and Homelessness data, and perhaps most significantly Housing Needs Surveys.

In 1999 a detailed Housing Needs Survey was undertaken on behalf of the Council by David Couttie Associates (DCA) with the aim of informing the development of both the Housing Strategy and the affordable housing policy within the Local Plan. The findings were published in a Final Report in February 2000 that included an Executive Summary, and a separate Summary of the Main Findings was also produced for circulation to key stakeholders. Subsequently the consultants, DCA, carried out an analysis of the data at parish level and produced a Summary Report for each of the District’s 42 towns/parishes.

The Housing Needs Survey provided a “snapshot” of the current housing needs and a projection of housing needs to 2004 and beyond. A further statistical extrapolation has been used by the Council's Housing Department to project the affordable need at April 2011. The following table gives a breakdown of the extent and distribution of housing need across the District

In addition, an up-to-date survey of rural housing needs has been undertaken in association with Parish Councils in order to justify the rural affordable housing allocations proposed under Policy HG6. The results of these surveys are available separately from the Council’s Director of Community Services.

Further information on the Housing Needs Survey and on housing needs assessment in general can be obtained from the Council's Director of Community Services.