Housing sector welcomes Northern Ireland draft programme for government as ‘starting point’

Housing bodies have cautiously welcomed the Northern Ireland executive’s focus on social and affordable housing in its draft programme for government.

The executive acknowledged that it had fallen short of its annual target of 2,500 new social homes but expressed its intention to commit to the long-term public funding needed to boost social housing delivery.

The government said it will also innovate to develop new funding for the delivery of more affordable homes.

Justin Cartwright, national director at the Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Ireland has welcomed the measures in the draft programme for government (PfG) as a “positive starting point to provide the homes people across Northern Ireland need”.

>> See also: Extra £20m for social housing in Northern Ireland welcomed, but CIH says “significant gap” remains

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Cartwright highlighted key proposals such as creating favourable borrowing conditions for the Housing Executive, supporting NI Water in addressing water infrastructure capacity challenges, and advancing the Housing Supply Strategy as “essential steps forward.”

The Housing Supply Strategy plans to deliver over 100,000 new homes by 2037. Originally launched in 2020, its progress was hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the nearly two-year collapse of Stormont power-sharing in 2022.

The executive released its draft PfG on Monday this week and has launched a consultation on the document which will run for eight weeks.

He also said the commitment to reform the private rented sector and retrofit homes for net-zero emissions was encouraging.

“Much of the success of these proposals will depend on the forthcoming departmental plans and the funding allocated to them,” he warned.

”Multi-annual budgets will be essential to ensure long-term progress. 

“If strategic funding decisions are indeed directed by the priorities set out in the PfG, this is a welcome approach. Nonetheless, structural reforms, such as those required for NI Water, remain necessary to fully support these ambitions.”

In April’s capital budget, the Department for Communities (DfC) saw its capital budget cut by 38%, from £216m to £133m.

In July, the executive set aside an extra £20m for social housing. 

The Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations has said it expects the additional funding to increase the number of new social homes built this year to just over 500.

More than 47,000 households are currently on the social housing waiting list, with 35,000 of them classified as being in “housing stress.”

Housing stress refers to individuals or families who score 30 or more points on the Housing Selection Scheme, which evaluates factors such as overcrowding, poor living conditions, health concerns, and other vulnerabilities.

Nicola McCrudden, CEO of the charity Homeless Connect, said: “We are pleased that housing has rightly been included as a top priority for government. Homeless Connect and our partners in housing have been pressing for this for many years.”

She added: “With the number of households with homelessness status rising above 30,000 in June, it is crucial that the Executive delivers increased supply of social and affordable housing.”

McCrudden warned that “this priority must be accompanied by sufficient resources if it is to make a real impact. 

“The budget put forward for 2024/5 will only allow the Department for Communities to fund up to 600 new social housing new starts this year against a target of 2,000. This needs to reconsidered in the months ahead.”