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Affordable housing must be ‘genuinely’ affordable, say NI principals

Plans for affordable housing on new developments in Northern Ireland must be “genuinely affordable”, industry figures have warned. 

 

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Affordable housing must be ‘genuinely’ affordable, warn NI figures #ukhousing

The call has come ahead of an affordable homes conference being hosted by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and charity Housing Rights in Belfast today.

The definition of ‘affordable’ housing is the subject of a government consultation in Northern Ireland.

Justin Cartwright, CIH’s newly appointed national director, said: “Affordability is a central concern when we talk about housing.

"But affordability often isn’t defined and depends on several factors. When we talk about ‘affordable housing’ for planning purposes, we must ensure that it is a genuinely affordable option for people.”


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Councils in Northern Ireland are also working on new planning requirements that mean social and affordable housing will be built alongside private housing in new, larger developments, the CIH said.

Kate McCauley, Housing Rights policy and practice manager, said any government plans must show how they will tackle affordability.

“As a housing advice charity we see the difficulties faced by people on low incomes and the impact this has on their ability to find and keep their homes every day,” she said.

“It is critical that government proposals developed in relation to affordable housing robustly evidence precisely how they will address these difficulties.”

Northern Ireland’s proposed new definition for affordable housing is: “Affordable housing is housing provided for sale or rent outside of the general market, for those whose needs are not met by the market.

“Affordable housing which is funded by government must remain affordable or, alternatively, there must be provision for the public subsidy to be repaid or recycled in the provision of new affordable housing.”

The DfC has said the change is aimed at improving access to suitable housing and will not impact households’ ability to access social housing.

It has also said the wider definition could help housing associations develop new affordable housing products.

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