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Social housing starts in Northern Ireland collapse
Social housing starts in Northern Ireland collapsed by more than half in the first quarter of this year, despite overall starts on new homes hitting their highest level in seven years.
Official figures released this week in the Northern Ireland Housing Bulletin show there were just 46 starts through the region’s Social Housing Development Programme (SHDP) between April and June 2017 – compared to 114 in the same period in 2016.
At the same time, the total number of new home starts was 2,444, 19% higher than last year and the highest first quarter level since 2010.
Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities (DfC) cut its 2017/18 target for social housing starts from 2,000 to 1,750 in June, blaming a £36m reduction in its capital budget from which it allocates SHDP grant.
The region has been operating on a compromised budget controlled by civil servants since March, with the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein still unable to reach a power-sharing agreement following a snap election.
Social housing development output is often comparatively low in quarter one – and 290 SHDP completions were signed off between April and June this year.
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Ben Collins, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA), said: “There’s been a difficult operating environment, with the collapse of government at Stormont in January, a lack of budget clarity, and uncertainty over a number of policy issues.
“NIFHA and our member housing associations are working closely with DfC and the [Northern Ireland] Housing Executive to advance development plans for much-needed homes. As these issues are resolved, it is hoped that the pace of development will pick up and more homes will be built.”
Homelessness figures remained static with 4,650 households presenting themselves as homeless, compared to 4,655 the previous year.
Nicola McCrudden, director of the Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Ireland, said: “The improvement in the level of housebuilding is very welcome. It is being driven by the ongoing recovery of the private sector, which started the highest number of new homes in seven years.
“The housing association sector also continues to contribute by providing much-needed social homes.”
