Member's statement: Housing Executive: Maintenance Fees

Member's statement by Mr Gerry Carroll on 9 February 2026.

MLA

Mr Gerry Carroll

Party at the time

People Before Profit Alliance

Date

9 February 2026

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Housing Executive: Maintenance Fees

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5369062

Read the official Assembly record

Text

For the past few months, I have been contacted by people across the North, as well as a large number of people in my constituency of West Belfast, about Housing Executive maintenance fees. Leaseholders who bought their flats or maisonettes from the Housing Executive feel utterly let down by that organisation, to put it mildly. They thought that their new homes would give them security and stability, but they have had anything but that; instead, they are being hit with bills of £4,000 or £5,000 and, in some cases, higher. Residents in Rathcoole have been handed an eye-watering bill of almost £50,000 for remedial works to their building. They have been locked out of their homes for three years while that work takes place. The lack of transparency and engagement has been absolutely shocking and disgraceful. I call on the Minister for Communities to intervene in the issue. Many people had no idea what they were signing up for, nor was it explained to them, when they purchased their homes from the Housing Executive. They pay a monthly service charge for their homes, with little in return. Still, they are being landed with bills for thousands of pounds that working-class families cannot afford. They do not have that money lying about for work that they did not agree to or sign off on. When leaseholders try to engage with the Housing Executive to raise objections, what happens? They are offered a payment plan. They are told, effectively, to pay up and shut up. The Housing Executive has admitted in writing that there is no opportunity for residents to influence works to their own homes. That is not engagement or consultation; that is a dictatorship by any definition. There are huge questions here about why there is such a cloak of secrecy. For the avoidance of doubt, many of the buildings are old and genuinely need essential maintenance and servicing. Some of the work, however, is completely unnecessary, including replacing perfectly functional railings with rusted railings; replacing stone steps with steel steps that are slippery every time it rains; and painting homes in really bright colours when people have not requested that. People suspect that the contractors are raking it in for work that is not needed and is, in some cases, of highly questionable quality. That, essentially, is what privatisation looks like. The outsourcing of maintenance work by the Housing Executive has been an unmitigated disaster for residents and workers alike. There is a simple solution: the Housing Executive should meaningfully engage with leaseholders before any works take place, and all maintenance work should be brought back in-house in order to give workers well-paid and secure jobs that they can take pride in and to stop the gravy train for private contractors that profit from our communities while ordinary people are left with bills that they cannot afford to pay.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:31 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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