Lyons: progress has been made in housing, but more work lies ahead

Date published: 26 March 2025

The Minister was speaking at the Northern Ireland Housing Conference, to an audience which included a range of stakeholders and delivery partners from across the sector.

Delivering the keynote speech, the Minister said: 

“When I spoke last year, as a new Minister, there was a sense of optimism at new beginnings. But this was tempered by the realism of the situation we face in housing. Yet as I said then, and repeat now, good housing is the foundation to so much in life. Housing underpins positive outcomes in health, education and many, many other areas.

“A lot has been achieved in the last 12 months. Housing is now a priority in the Programme for Government. Alongside this, the Housing Supply Strategy gives us an agreed and collective way forward. It challenges the entire Executive to support me in finding and delivering solutions to our housing issues. 

“As part of this strategic framework, there have been announcements and initiatives across housing. These include: additional funding for homelessness; removal of Intimidation Points from the Housing Selection Scheme; plans to reduce the spend on temporary accommodation; and over £170million invested in new social housing.  As of the end of February, across Northern Ireland, there were some 5,200 social houses under construction.

“I also unveiled plans to build 300 new, affordable, homes for rent. These will be for individuals and families unlikely to access social housing, but who would struggle to afford private rented accommodation.

“I also recently announced that I am allocating a further £153million to support Co-Ownership to deliver 4,000 homes over the next four years. I have also increased the property value limit (PVL) for Co-Ownership products to £210,000. This will provide Co-Ownership applicants with access to a wider range of properties across Northern Ireland and help those who are struggling to buy their first house find a place to call home.

“While acknowledging progress - and recognising the many partners and stakeholders involved in this collaborative effort are present at the conference – I realise there is still much to do.

“Looking forward, I will continue to prioritise the delivery of good quality, sustainable and affordable homes.

“I will press for the revitalisation of the Housing Executive, and look at new ways of unlocking funding. I also want to deliver improvements in how we tackle tenancy fraud in social housing. In addition, we must ensure people are better equipped to heat their homes through the development of a fuel poverty strategy.”

“Through innovation - by discovering ways to do more with the resources we have - I am certain we can continue to move forward with confidence and see more successes throughout this year.”