'Radical thinking' needed to increase supply and availability of new homes

The UUP representative for Magherafelt DEA has called for a radical rethink to make more homes available to local people and first-time buyers, stating: “Everyone deserves to have the security of a place to call home whether they want to buy or rent their own home.”

Commenting on the housing shortage across Northern Ireland (NI) and in Mid Ulster, Mrs. Haydock said: “The latest social housing waiting list figures only served to highlight the need for radical interventions to reduce waiting lists and make more homes available. The most recent NI figures indicate there are currently almost 51,000 individuals on the social rented housing list of which more than 39,600 are in housing stress. In the Mid Ulster Council area alone, there are over 5,100 people on the waiting list, of which over 3,500 are in housing stress. There are people who have been waiting on a home for a very long time – sometimes more than ten years. This is a housing crisis that is unacceptable.

“Currently the Northern Ireland Executive Parties are in talks with the Secretary of State, Sir Chris Bryant, to negotiate additional money to finalise the Budget and fund services in NI. Now is the ideal time for the relevant Stormont Departments to focus on the root cause of lack of available and affordable homes and to do something about it.

“To build new homes, adequate sewage and wastewater infrastructure must be in place to connect them to the sewage network. It is no secret that NI’s sewage and waste water infrastructure simply cannot cope with current demand, let alone future growth. Major investment is required to upgrade and replace the ageing sewage network. I am now calling on the Department of Infrastructure and NI Water to prioritise investment in NI’s sewage and wastewater systems so that house building can begin in earnest and meet the demand.”

The UUP representative continued: “I have listened to the concerns of constituents, particularly employed people, who tell me they want the security of buying and owning their own home and they want to live in their communities. They are prevented from doing so because of the lack of available and affordable homes. Their earnings are not keeping pace with rising house prices, and they are being priced out of the market. Rising house prices are fuelled by demand and the shortage of houses on the market, which can be traced back to lack of capacity in the public sewage network.

“I am advocating for targeted interventions to make home ownership a viable option for local people and first-time buyers in Mid-Ulster and beyond. I am thinking of people who work in social care, in health, education, retail, hospitality, production and trades who are the backbone of their communities and provide essential services, yet who cannot afford to buy their own home. Although these workers are in stable and long-term employment, they cannot raise the deposit needed to secure a mortgage or are refused a mortgage because of rigid affordability checks.

“I am advocating that more newly built homes should be ring fenced specifically for first time buyers and workers on lower incomes. To achieve this, improvements could be made to the existing co-ownership scheme to cap rents below commercial levels, lock in future price purchase when the value of the property increases and make the resale of a co-ownership property more attractive. The “Rent to Own” scheme could be reintroduced to complement the existing Affordable Rent Scheme and would offer new homes below market rents. Such a scheme would allow first-time buyers to first rent a new build and enter into an agreement or obligation to purchase in five years’ time, using a proportion of the rent payments to contribute towards the purchase price.

“Targeted deposit assistance in the form of grants or interest-free loans for deposits and government backed mortgage guarantees to allow lenders to offer mortgages with smaller deposits could assist those workers on lower incomes to secure a mortgage to buy their own homes.”

Mrs Haydock added: “As the Ulster Unionist Party Representative for Magherafelt DEA, I have written to the Ministers at the Department of Communities and Department of Infrastructure, calling for a radical rethink of existing policies and requesting that interventions are put in place to improve the supply and availability of new homes for ordinary people. I will continue to advocate for constituents who deserve the right to live in a place that is their own home.”