Background to the Research

• The 1998 GFA suggests a new governance structure is emerging. The provision and management of housing in NI is trying to assimilate to the new situation and to the wider policy agenda of the Labour government.
• This chapter explores the nature and extent of changes in housing policy and provision within NI.
  

Research Approach

• The authors draw on NIHE statistics and their own research in order to explore developments in NI housing policy since the 1970s and to chart the likely structure of future housing provision in the light of the GFA.
  

Main Findings

• Housing provision and management in NI has been politicised and controversial for over 30 years, and housing is characterised by high levels of segregation. One statutory agency, the NIHE, has dominated social housing provision and management since 1971.
• By 1973, the NIHE was responsible for 155,000 homes; this figure is now stands at 140,000; making the authority the biggest provider of social housing in the region. The executive enjoys widespread local support due to its success in non-discriminatory housing allocation, and the transformation of housing conditions through new build, slum clearance, redevelopment and rehabilitation.
• The private rented sector only accounts for about 4% of the stock today and housing association stock accounts for 1% (in total there are 40 registered housing associations). Owner occupation has expanded faster than in other UK regions during the 1990s and now accounts for about 68% of the housing stock.
• In the mid-1990s, housing policy in NI underwent its first major review since 1971. Reforms partly followed the British model; new social housing development was transferred to housing associations; the Department of Environment's regulatory and monitoring roles in relation to the housing associations and the private rented sector were also transferred to the NIHE and the NIHE was to remain the single comprehensive strategic organisation with responsibility for assessing housing need.
• The new Labour government has given a firm commitment that the Compulsory Competitive Tendering of housing management will not be enforced and that homeless legalisation introduced in the rest of Britain will not be introduced in NI.
• The government and the new Assembly have to determine who should be the main providers of social housing in the province beyond the millennium. The NIHE, as main provider of social housing, has been endorsed by the majority of the population and therefore the transfer of all new build to housing associations is not a satisfactory solution.
• The housing association sector should be encouraged to continue to diversify and adapt to the rapid changes being brought about by the political settlement. The government could consider encouraging housing associations and the Executive to work closely together in order to promote integrated housing. Housing associations could promote cross-border regeneration in the spirit of the peace agreement.
• The issue of funding must be addressed and ways need to be found to allow the NIHE to utilise it's asset base and income stream to borrow from the private sector. This money could be used to incorporate housing policy within the wider regeneration remit in NI.
• In the final analysis, housing policy in NI will depend on the nature of any new administration. New administrative structures, which could include the return of housing and planning powers to local representatives, will set a new context for policy development. Given this, and the continuing sectarian nature of housing, it is important that the government assesses how sustainable a new administrative system may be, and the future directions it might take. For these reasons, it is imperative that the NIHE should remain in existence for the foreseeable future.