New commitment to build more social housing, says Lyons

The communities minister has said he plans to do what he can to build more social housing, despite last year's housing targets falling short.

In December, research from the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Association found that over the next two years, plans for 2,092 new social homes across Northern Ireland could fall to 1,100.

Gordon Lyons said his department "will be starting 1750 homes" in 2026, but that is still short of the target set in Stormont's Programme for Government, which pledged to start work on at least 5,850 new build social homes by 2027.

Almost 50,000 people are currently on a waiting list for social housing in Northern Ireland.

Social housing in Northern Ireland is typically built by not-for-profit housing associations, supported by Department for Communities (DfC) funding.

In October the minister announced that funding for housing associations to build new social housing was to be cut.

Speaking on the Nolan Show, Lyons said he accepts there are "huge difficulties," with the social housing sector and that he is even "looking at empty homes".

The minster claimed that since he came into office his department has been "closer to making our targets".

"I secured more money through the executive and I'm in a position where I am falling just short," he said.

He said he was bringing a fresh proposal to his fellow ministers: "If you cannot give me cash to build homes, then give me land, so I can build more."

In December Lyons said he planned to work with housing associations to "find efficiencies" and "make it as cheap as possible within current standards to build more homes".

"I need to stretch this as far as possible and quite frankly the status quo isn't good enough."

Also speaking on the Nolan Show, People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin cited Derry and Strabane Council, where he claims there are 6,300 households on the waiting list for a home.

Harkin said starting 1750 new-build homes in 2026 was not enough: "We need 1,400 new social homes built in our district alone.

"This is not delivery, this is not a serious plan to address a housing crisis.

"They have it written down on paper that there is going to be an empty homes strategy, but there is absolutely no houses being brought back into use."

In December Seamus Leheny, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA), said: "The new-build programme in Belfast and other high-need areas is on the brink of collapse.

"You cannot address urgent housing demand by making social housing more expensive to deliver."

Until last year the DfC paid an average of 54% of the total cost of a social housing scheme, but under the new funding arrangement announced in October, that has fallen to an average of 46%.