Helping social tenants into home ownership is something Property supports, but this must not come at the expense of an already limited supply of social housing. Housing need in Northern Ireland has increased by 73% since 2015, placing greater pressure on both the social and private rented sectors. As more households remain on social housing waiting lists, demand shifts into the private rented sector, increasing pressure on rents and reducing housing security for those on the lowest incomes.
Replace every home sold
Our central recommendation is that every social home sold through the House Sales Scheme must be replaced to prevent further reductions in housing availability. Alongside this, increasing the number of new social homes is essential to meet growing demand and improve housing supply across Northern Ireland.
Assess applications on a case-by-case basis
Rather than permanently excluding whole categories of properties from sale, Propertymark recommends assessing each application individually. Decisions should consider local housing need, the availability of similar properties and the likely impact each sale would have on social housing supply.
Another recommendation is to introduce an annual cap on the number of homes sold through the scheme. Where applications exceed the cap, the Housing Executive could prioritise those that would have the least impact on local housing supply.
Supporting sustainable home ownership
Propertymark strongly agrees that the House Sales Scheme has contributed to the loss of social housing, with more than 122,000 homes sold over the past 40 years. Even if only a small proportion of those homes had remained within the Housing Executive's stock, waiting lists would be significantly lower today.
Extending the Option to Purchase period from 10 to 20 years is another proposal Propertymark supports that will allow more properties sold under the scheme to return to Housing Executive ownership in the future. However, it does not support the exclusion of adapted homes, flats or maisonettes from the scheme in all circumstances. Instead, a flexible, case-by-case approach should be adopted, reflecting local housing need and ensuring that homes can continue to be sold where the impact on supply would be limited.
Reform the scheme, don't end it
The House Sales Scheme should not be abolished; instead, practical reforms, including replacing every home sold, increasing the delivery of new social housing, assessing sales on a case-by-case basis and introducing an annual cap on sales, offer the best way to balance opportunities for home ownership with the need to protect Northern Ireland's social housing stock for future generations.
