Northern Ireland housing bodies welcome new funding but warn significant gap remains

“While the additional funding from the Autumn Statement is to be welcomed, it still falls short of the pressures facing departments. This means departments will have to make savings or reduce what they would want to do in order to live within their allocations.”

Among the £68m in capital funding allocations, £24m was announced to “help enable the delivery of 1,400 [social] houses in this financial year” and £39.6m was allocated to the Department for Infrastructure to address wastewater constraints impacting construction.

Seamus Leheny, chief executive of NIFHA, said the funding for social homes is “still far below the level of investment we need to be at to start to make some impact on the waiting list”. The latest data showed there were 47,312 applicants on the social housing waiting list.

Mr Leheny said: “The social housing waiting list is the biggest as it has ever been, with more families joining it each month. 

“We have a housing crisis, and the new build social housing budget we have been dealing with so far this year was the lowest it has been in generations.”

He said “the fact is” that the budget allocation to the Social Housing Development Programme “needs to be increased”.

“We simply are not being given enough Northern Ireland Executive funding to build the number of social homes we need,” he stated.

Mr Leheny said waiting for in-year allocations for capital works projects is “not a sustainable way of tackling housing”.

He added: “We also need to see exactly how the additional funding for NI Water can be strategically invested to support housing new build. 

“Housing associations now have a matter of months to progress 800 additional units, which will mean we need to see support from the Department for Communities, Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Northern Ireland Water and the planning department from the 11 councils to help ensure that these can be successfully progressed.”

Mr Leheny called for “clear, multi-year” budgets, with annual targets in excess of 2,000 new homes.

“Hand in hand with this, we need to also see immediate investment in waste water infrastructure, particularly in areas of high demand such as Belfast and Derry, as without this we will not be in a position to complete many housing projects,” he said. 

Justin Cartwright, national director of CIH Northern Ireland, said that while the news “provides reassurance for developers awaiting funding, it is essential to acknowledge that a significant gap remains”.

He said the funding is a “positive step forward in addressing the housing crisis in Northern Ireland” and “demonstrates the executive’s commitment to delivering much-needed social housing and supporting essential water infrastructure”.

He added: “Of the £68m capital, the overwhelming majority has been allocated to social housing and water infrastructure, despite competing bids from various departments. 

“It is crucial to recognise that water infrastructure underpins development of all housing tenures and more, making it a vital investment for the future.”

However, Mr Cartwright said to “ensure the long-term sustainability of the housing sector, we urge a return to upfront, multi-year funding”. 

“This will enable developers to plan effectively, reduce uncertainty and deliver homes more efficiently.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said: “Once again, capital bid far outstripped the funding available – some five times over. Departments submitted bids totalling £346m against funding available for an allocation of £68m. The allocations agreed in the October monitoring round by the executive reflect the importance of social housing and recognise pressures including constraints within the wastewater infrastructure.”