Northern Ireland house builders warn sewage capacity is holding back 15,000 homes
House builders in Northern Ireland have warned that lack of capacity in the region’s sewage system is holding back the development of 15,000 homes.
House builders in Northern Ireland have warned that lack of capacity in the region’s sewage system is holding back the development of 15,000 homes #UKhousingTrade body Build Homes NI claimed that years of underinvestment in wastewater infrastructure has left much of Northern Ireland’s sewage network at “full capacity”.
This means that no new housing developments can be connected to the sewage system, so they could be refused planning permission.
According to the trade body, the worst-affected council areas are: Mid Ulster, where 2,337 homes are being held back; Belfast, which has 1,933 affected homes; and Derry City and Strabane, where 1,775 homes are affected.
NI Water has 68 wastewater treatment works with no capacity and a further 107 networks with restricted capacity.
As a result, Build Homes NI said, the development of 15,386 homes is being impeded.
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Paul McErlean, director of Build Homes NI, said: “The underlying problem is chronic underfunding of Northern Ireland Water, which receives the vast majority of its income from the Northern Ireland Executive.
“As a result, our members have confirmed that the pipeline of housing development sites is beginning to dry up and that they are being forced to look outside of Northern Ireland for work.
“At present the Northern Ireland Executive is following a ‘three-pronged’ approach to wastewater issues, but this is wholly inadequate given the scale of the crisis and the £2bn deficit NI Water faces in its next funding period.
“We need the Northern Ireland Executive to provide a long-term solution to our growing wastewater crisis. Until that happens, the public will pay the price of political inaction through higher housing and rental costs, lost jobs, lost economic growth and pollution caused by untreated sewage spills.”
The comments came after quarterly starts of new homes in Northern Ireland fell to their lowest levels since 2013. Just under 1,100 homes were started between October and December 2025, down 30% compared with the final quarter of 2024. Only 51 of these starts were social housing.
The Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Ireland said this sudden decline in new home starts was “deeply concerning”.
The Northern Ireland Executive and Department for Communities were approached for comment.
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