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What housing pledges are in the DUP manifesto?
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) looks set to play a role in the new government -so where do they stand on housing issues?
The DUP has pledged to turn Northern Ireland’s giant state landlord into a “strategic housing body” and build 8,000 social and affordable homes.
The spotlight has turned on the Northern Irish unionists following the shock hung parliament returned by Thursday’s poll.
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It places the party, which traditionally backs the Conservatives, in the position of kingmakers as Theresa May will need to rely on its support for a majority.
It ran on its 2016 manifesto for elections in Northern Ireland, where housing policy is fully devolved.
This promised to turn the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE), which owns and manages 90,000 social homes on behalf of the government, into “a strategic housing body”.
It also promised to deliver 8,000 social and affordable homes by 2020 in Northern Ireland, and mitigation for the bedroom tax welfare cut in the country, which has since been delivered.
It also promised increased support for tackling homelessness and supporting co-ownership – which is known as shared ownership in England.
DUP HOUSING PLEDGES
- Deliver 8,000 “social and affordable” homes by 2020
- Turn the NIHE into a “strategic housing body”, including making social housing “more self-financing”
- More community land trusts for affordable homes
- Increased support for people working to tackle homelessness
- Bedroom tax mitigation
- Continuing to support “co-ownership” (a shared ownership scheme)
