Northern Ireland landlords with biggest social housing pipelines revealed in new data

The data, released by communities minister Gordon Lyons in response to a question submitted by MLA Timothy Gaston, reveals which landlords are aiming to build the most homes (see table, below) with Belfast-based Choice Housing coming top.

Choice has 1,241 homes either in progress or planned in the next three years. 

The landlord is also building an additional 140 through a joint scheme with Radius Housing in West Belfast, making it the landlord with the most homes in its pipeline.

The second-biggest pipeline is being developed by Clanmil, which is building 1,285 homes. Of these, 259 were started in 2024-25. Its biggest scheme is a 130-home project on Ballinderry Road, Lisburn.

The data also reveals which local authority districts will get the most social homes. More than half of all the planned homes will be built around the largest cities, with capital city Belfast earmarked for 2,326 homes mainly built by Choice, Clanmil and Radius. 

Derry City and Strabane in the north-west will gain 2,100 new social homes, with major schemes including Moores Land, a multi-phase development of 300 homes in Derry by Apex Housing Association, which is set to start work next year. In this district, work is currently under way on 247 units.

Other areas set for new influxes of social homes include Lisburn and Castlereagh on the periphery of Belfast, which will get 694 social homes, and Causeway Coast and Glens along the northern coast, where 658 homes are scheduled to be built in towns including Coleraine, Ballymoney and Portrush.

A spokesperson for Choice said: “Our pipeline reflects our continued commitment to new build social housing, which remains a number-one priority for Choice in response to ever-growing waiting lists and acute housing need.

“Our largest scheme is in Derry/Londonderry where we will deliver a further 600 homes in the next five years.”