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Northern Ireland housing associations exceed social housing targets
Housing associations in Northern Ireland surpassed government targets for social housing starts and completions in the past year.
In 2022-23, providers completed 1,449 homes across 82 schemes, while work started on 1,956 new homes.
The figures exceeded the targets set by the Department for Communities (DfC) – 1,400 and 1,950 respectively.
Seamus Leheny, chief executive of Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations, said it was a “remarkable achievement” that providers exceeded both targets “in the face of very significant economic challenges faced by the construction sector”.
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In Northern Ireland, new build social housing is delivered by housing associations, which use private finance to match funding from the DfC to deliver projects.
There are currently more than 44,000 people on the housing waiting list, with more than 32,000 considered to be in housing stress.
Mr Leheny said: “The need for more new social housing is clear right across Northern Ireland, and our members are faced with the challenge of delivering new projects in tight time frames, within limited budgets and often in the backdrop of an overburdened planning system.
“With 1,956 new starts and 1,449 completed homes, it is one of the most successful periods the sector has had in recent years.”
He added that there is “much more” to do.
“The housing waiting list is considerable and construction costs have risen significantly.
“What we want to see is the next social housing budget allocation matching the ambition and ability of the social housing sector to deliver on targets for new homes.
“Cuts to the housing budget at this time would be a retrograde step and would have long-term implications for how we deal with housing waiting lists,” Mr Leheny said.
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