Debate contribution: Housing Crisis on the North Coast

Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on 7 May 2024.

MLA

Mr Gordon Lyons

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

7 May 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Housing Crisis on the North Coast

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4488521

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank Ms Hunter for bringing the Adjournment debate to the House, and I welcome the opportunity to respond to it. I recognise many of the issues and concerns that the Member and others raised in the debate about housing on the north coast. I also understand that there are some housing matters, including second homes and holiday homes, that are perhaps more commonly raised when we talk about places such as the north coast. However, many of the issues that are experienced are replicated throughout the country, and Ms Ferguson reminded us that the problem is not limited to any one area and that the solutions that are required to address them are the same. As Minister for housing, I spoke recently in the Assembly about the need to accept that those issues and concerns are faced not just in one constituency or one area. In our cities and our towns, urban and rural, the demand for good-quality, affordable and sustainable homes continues to grow. I reiterate that housing in all places is a priority for me and needs to be a priority across the Executive. Housing must be considered as a whole system, and there must be collective commitment and action across government alongside private, voluntary and community sector partners. I state again that the barriers to delivery that we face, such as water infrastructure capacity constraints, land availability and the planning process, will require coordinated action and investment from across the Executive, otherwise housing supply will continue to decline. We must acknowledge the very challenging Budget situation and the recognition that, with increased demand on services and rising costs, there is not sufficient funding to do everything that we want. However, we need and want to be an Executive that deliver. That means focusing on what is important, and I believe that one of those things is providing homes for our people. We must deliver if we want to avoid sliding into a housing crisis like those elsewhere in the UK and in Ireland, but we have to acknowledge that the financial situation is more challenging than it has ever been. The whole-system approach that I talk about is fundamental to the draft housing supply strategy that I am working to finalise. As I mentioned before, that strategy will aim to provide the framework for the system changes that we need, but it will deliver only if other Departments prioritise the changes in budgetary allocations that they have to make so that the whole system can deliver the homes that we need. I have been clear about the need to build more social homes. I announced to the Assembly on 9 April that, in the last financial year, across Northern Ireland, we met our target of having over 1,500 social homes started in partnership with the Housing Executive and housing associations. I am pleased that that target was met in the face of an extremely constrained budgetary environment, but I also acknowledge that 1,500 homes are not enough. We know what the evidence is telling us. We need to protect the social homes that we have and start about 2,500 houses a year, but that is not the environment that we are operating in. Members will be aware of the 2024-25 Budget and the Finance Minister's remarks about the demands on our finances outstripping many times over the funding that is available. However, I assure Members today that I will continue to spend most of my capital budget on the provision of social homes. As much as I want to build 35,000 more social homes over the next 15 years, I must remind Members that that will be possible only if budget is available year-on-year. I want to put that ambitious programme into place, but it is dependent on housing being prioritised in Budget allocations. The commitment to social home delivery can be seen across the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. Between the financial years 2019 and 2024, 505 social homes were started and 361 were completed in the council area. Over the next three years and subject to budget, 463 social homes are programmed to start in the constituency as part of the social housing development programme. I also intend to take action to protect our Housing Executive so that it can continue to provide decent homes for our households and families. I recently highlighted the very real warning from the Housing Executive that, due to the current state of its houses and rental income, some of its houses might become unfit to live in. We simply cannot allow that to happen. That would have a catastrophic impact on communities and the tens of thousands of people who would never get a social home. The Housing Executive is a significant landlord in the scale and provision of services to its tenants. I want to make sure that it remains so for generations to come. Finding a solution that will place the Housing Executive on a sustainable financial footing is a top priority for me. As I mentioned, the potential impact of holiday lets and second homes on local housing markets and communities is of particular interest on the north coast. People who are looking for a home are not able to find one, so it is hard for them to see houses in their communities sitting empty for most of the year. Houses once rented to tenants are now Airbnbs, so people see houses that they could live in being used only in the summer or for a few weekends. There are housing developments where local working families feel priced out because people from outside are buying houses as holiday homes. That is a challenging issue. There is limited data on second homes, and sometimes it is conflicting. It can, because of that, be difficult to establish the extent of second homes, their location and the impact that they may be having on local housing markets. The latest census for Northern Ireland showed that 6% of all houses had no usual residents. There is a range of possibilities for that, including that they are truly vacant; they are being renovated; they are self-catering, short-term lets; or they are second homes. It is notable, however, that, in the Causeway Coast and Glens area, the proportion of homes with no usual residents is, at 13%, more than double the overall figure for Northern Ireland. Some of that is unavoidable. However, more holiday homes or holiday lets could distort a housing market, especially if there were a rapid change in the number of such properties. My Department and the Housing Executive are therefore carrying out research on second-home ownership to improve our understanding of what has gone on. Also, at a basic level, the local council needs to know the extent of second-home ownership to properly understand the need for new housing and to make provision for that in its local development plans. This will, of course, require all of the Executive to work together. The Department for the Economy has a role as well. The provision of tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland is regulated by Tourism NI, which is undertaking a review of legislation relating to the provision of tourism accommodation. That will allow it to consider the changes required to the regulatory environment in its totality to ensure sustainable growth. The Department for Infrastructure could look at the reforms that have been made in England. The Welsh Government have introduced powers for councils to charge a council tax premium of up to 300% on second homes. Obviously, that will require consideration by colleagues in the Department of Finance. As you can see, this issue will require a genuinely collaborative approach because it impacts on Departments across the Executive. I will write to Executive colleagues shortly on the housing supply strategy, and I hope to have an early discussion on those issues. I will touch on some of the comments that were made. The Member who secured the debate was right to say that this is the most pressing issue for all of us in our constituency offices. That is why we need to address it. Alan Robinson — or should I call him the Member for West-East Londonderry? — was right to highlight the point that this should not be about pitting second-home owners against those who live in the area permanently. What we need is additional supply to deal with the demand, and that is at the heart of what we are trying to do. We do not want to be in the position, as Sian Mulholland said, of people moving away. Families moving out causes huge problems for the community, including a damaging loss of services. Ms Sugden was right to raise the issue of homelessness. We know the instability that moving about creates in the life of a family, and for children in particular. That is why this needs to be raised. I am committed to a genuinely ambitious and strategic programme of work that will deliver for everybody. I recognise that these issues face people across the country and that a cross-Executive approach will be required, and I am up for that. I will bring the housing supply strategy forward soon. I want to make sure that we are in a position to ensure that everyone has a safe, sustainable and affordable place to call home.

1,565 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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