Member's statement: Housing: Rent and Immigration in North Antrim

Member's statement by Ms Sian Mulholland on 3 March 2025.

MLA

Ms Sian Mulholland

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

3 March 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Housing: Rent and Immigration in North Antrim

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4825687

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I take this opportunity to correct the record and respond to comments made during last week's private renters debate by a fellow Member for North Antrim. During the debate, Mr Gaston claimed that so-called uncontrolled immigration was driving up rents, particularly in deprived areas, such as in certain parts of North Antrim. That claim is completely false, and it is vital that the Chamber does not allow misinformation to go unchallenged, so let me put the facts on record. The most recent census data is clear: 86% of all housing in Northern Ireland is occupied by people born here. In North Antrim, that figure actually rises to 88%. In the private rented sector, 72% of tenants across Northern Ireland were born here, rising to 73% in North Antrim. In social housing, 88% of tenants across Northern Ireland were born here, rising to 89% in North Antrim. In owner-occupied housing, the picture is the same: 89% across Northern Ireland, rising to 91% in North Antrim. If immigration was truly driving up rents, we would expect to see a much higher proportion of private renters being migrants or clear links between migration hotspots and rising rents, and that is simply not the case across the entirety of the Province. The latest official data shows that net migration represents just 0·3% of our 1·9 million population — a tiny fraction. To describe that as uncontrolled is wildly misleading. To suggest that a small number of people could cause a housing crisis is simply not credible. The answer to the question of what is driving up rents is no mystery. It is a chronic shortage of social housing, rising construction costs, delays in the planning process, water infrastructure that cannot support new development, and, of course, the growing Airbnb effect whereby properties that could house families are instead being turned into short-term lets, which is something that we see across North Antrim. That is the real housing crisis. Mr Gaston also conveniently ignored the positive contribution that people from other countries make to our society, particularly in North Antrim. A total of 900 migrants work in health and care roles, filling essential vacancies to keep services running. Over 180 migrants in North Antrim work in education, helping to teach our children. Migrants play a vital role in agriculture, hospitality and local businesses, keeping North Antrim's economy afloat, and I thank them for that. The reality is that racist incidents in Northern Ireland now regularly exceed sectarian incidents. In 2023 alone, there were over 1,300 racist incidents compared with 1,091 sectarian incidents. That is the power of misinformation, demonisation and the othering of our fellow human beings. Blaming immigration for a housing crisis is not just wrong; it is dangerous scapegoating and a deliberate distraction from the real work that the Assembly should be doing. The truth is straightforward: our housing crisis will not be solved by blaming migrants; it will be solved by better decisions, better investment and better government.

496 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:03 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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