26 May 2026
CIH Northern Ireland response to Northern Ireland Housing Executive consultation on amendments to the House Sales Scheme
Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Ireland welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive consultation on amendments to the House Sales Scheme.
The Housing Executive’s House Sales Scheme has been a longstanding feature of housing policy in Northern Ireland. Since its introduction in 1979, the scheme has supported 122,916 households into home ownership.
When the scheme was introduced, the Housing Executive was actively developing new housing stock. However, from the early 2000s, responsibility for the delivery of new social housing transferred to housing associations. As a result, the Housing Executive has not been able to replace homes sold through the scheme, leading to a significant cumulative loss of social housing stock over time.
This consultation is proposing five possible changes, including:
- Not selling some homes that have been adapted for people with disabilities
- Not selling flats
- Extending the period during which the Housing Executive can buy back a sold home
- Clarifying rules to avoid the same home being sold more than once
- Changing how discounts are calculated in some cases.
Whilst CIH is supportive of measures to help people into home ownership, the House Sales Scheme has led to the loss of much-needed social housing stock. Almost 50,000 households are on the waiting list for social housing, and the numbers continue to grow each quarter. Conversely, social housing allocations have been decreasing. There is clear evidence that the demand for social housing far outstrips both current and projected supply.
According to the Housing Executive, housing need and demand projections show that housing need has increased by 73 per cent between 2015 and 2023. It is therefore evident that retention of social homes is essential to meet the scale of need and to support the Housing Executive’s delivery of the Housing Supply Strategy.
CIH supports ending or at the very least pausing the House Sales Scheme, following similar measures in Scotland and Wales. During a difficult and multifaceted housing crisis in Northern Ireland, retention of this scheme in any form runs contrary to the social housing need and the aims and objectives of the Housing Executive. The proposed amendments, while welcome as they seek to protect social housing stock, do not go far enough, and we believe the scheme should be ended or paused to allow for sufficient recovery of social housing stock levels.
Response to individual questions
Strongly agree.
| Very important | Important | Moderately important | Slightly important | Not important | Not sure | |
| Loss of adapted homes from the NIHE stock to allocate to households those on the waiting list | X | |||||
| Loss of flats/ maisonettes from the NIHE housing stock to allocate to households on the waiting list | X | |||||
| Reduction of social housing stock in high demand areas | X |
Strongly agree.
Strongly agree.
Strongly agree.
Strongly agree.
Strongly agree.
Strongly agree.
Strongly agree.
| Strongly agree | Agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Disagree | Strongly disagree | Not sure | |
| To ensure adequate supply of social housing, it is necessary to further reform the Scheme | X | |||||
| To ensure adequate supply of social housing, it is necessary to end the Scheme | X |
Strongly agree.
Yes, it should be increased.
Strongly agree.
Yes.
Do you have any additional comments?
CIH is supportive of measures to help people into home ownership, however, decades of the House Sales Scheme have led to a significant loss in social housing stock in Northern Ireland. Given the current scale of the social housing need and the worsening statistics regarding the waiting list and allocations, the public interest lies in the retention of as many social homes as possible. Appropriate weight should therefore be given to the public interest in this context in approaching policy decisions.
Agree.
Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Ireland welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation.
While CIH supports measures that assist people into home ownership, the House Sales Scheme has contributed significantly to the loss of much-needed social housing stock. The scheme has reduced the overall number of social homes available, with little realistic prospect of properties sold being replaced on a like-for-like basis.
Almost 50,000 households are currently on the waiting list for social housing, and this figure continues to rise each quarter. At the same time, social housing allocations have been declining. This clearly demonstrates that demand for social housing substantially exceeds both current and projected supply, even when considering Programme for Government targets and planned new-build developments. In this context, retaining existing social housing stock is essential to meeting identified housing need and supporting the Housing Executive’s delivery of the Housing Supply Strategy.
CIH therefore supports the ending or pausing of the House Sales Scheme, in line with measures already introduced in Scotland and Wales. During a severe and increasingly complex housing crisis in Northern Ireland, the continuation of the scheme in any form is inconsistent with the scale of social housing need and the strategic objectives of the Housing Executive.
Although these proposed amendments are welcomed as they seek to provide greater protection for social housing stock, CIH does not believe they go far enough. The scheme should instead be ended or paused to allow for the recovery and stabilisation of social housing stock levels.
For more information on our response, please contact Georgia Knapp CIHM, policy and public affairs manager Northern Ireland.
Email: georgia.knapp@cih.org
