Transfer plan for NIHE homes

The Commission on the Future for Housing in Northern Ireland, chaired by Local Government Association president Lord Richard Best, will publish its interim findings on Wednesday next week. The paper is understood to raise a series of questions for the long-term funding of the housing sector in Northern Ireland, where the NIHE is currently facing a £200 million deficit due to plunging land and property sales.

According to a source close to the commission, the interim paper will examine how the NIHE could play an enhanced strategic housing role; call for greater coherence between the three departments of the Northern Ireland Executive which have responsibility for housing; outline a possible role for a dedicated Northern Irish housing ombudsman service; and look at how to introduce new sources of funding such as section 106 deals and cross-subsidisation.

With regard to the NIHE’s future, the source said: ‘The commissioners have two sets of questions here: how should and do we make [the NIHE] a more strategic body for landlords; and, as this would impact on the NIHE’s landlord function, could and should this mean transferring all the housing stock to one or more housing associations?’

The source added that another option was to ‘…see whether or not there is an asset management route that could be followed, as the quality of the homes is good’.

The interim report will also call for the policy debate in Northern Ireland to ‘catch up’ with other countries in the UK. It will examine how to use public-private partnerships for regeneration and housing delivery.

The commission’s final recommendations will be published in spring 2010.

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