Chief executive of 90,000-home NIHE resigns

Mags Lightbody, who had been acting chief executive at the NIHE since April last year, said she was leaving the 90,000-home landlord ‘ready and able for change’.

The vacant post will now be advertised and the recruitment process will begin. A source said this would happen ‘within two weeks’.

The NIHE has been in a state of flux since plans to break it up were floated by then-social development minister Nelson McCausland in 2013.

It was also rocked by a political scandal over alleged over-payments to maintenance contractors in the same year.

Ms Lightbody said: ‘It has been an honour to serve here and to lead this organisation out of difficult times. The Housing Executive is now back proudly delivering and ready and able for change.

‘My intention was always to serve in a transition role to embed transformational change.  The changes I have witnessed across the organisation in my time here particularly as acting chief executive have been remarkable.’

She will serve a three-month notice period. A spokesperson did not reveal her next role.

Donald Hoodless, chair of the NIHE, said: ‘Mags’ legacy of transformation and customer focus to the [NIHE] will remain for many years and she has made a real tangible difference to housing Northern Ireland in this period.’

Housing associations in Northern Ireland and beyond have considered taking on NIHE homes should the planned break-up go ahead.

However, the political climate in Northern Ireland makes dismantling the organisation complex. The landlord was formed in the 1970s partially to combat perceived discrimination in housing allocation between communities.