CIH Northern Ireland’s analysis of Northern Ireland’s annual housing statistics

The latest Northern Ireland Housing Statistics 2025–26 reveal that, while progress is being made on some fronts such as the Social Housing Development Programme, the fundamental challenges in housing are deepening. Although increases in new social housing starts and falling pressure in homelessness are welcome, the continued rise in waiting lists and housing stress shows a system creaking under pressure.

Key findings from the bulletin highlight the instability of the situation:

• Social housing waiting list increases: The social housing waiting list grew to 50,381 households, an almost three per cent increase from last year’s figures; this continues a worrying upward trend, with the list increasing year-on-year since 2017-18. More people than ever are in desperate need of a safe, stable home.
• Worsening housing stress: The number of households experiencing housing stress has increased by almost four per cent to 39,008. Like the social housing waiting list, these figures have risen consistently in the past number of years and show the stark reality of the worrying circumstances faced by so many households.
• Social housing starts increase but fall short of need: A total of 1,765 new social homes were started in 2025-26, an increase of 17% from 2024-25 and meeting the target for the financial year; however, this target itself is far short of the more than 2,200 homes needed annually to meet demand, and the gap means more people will continue to wait for a place to call home.
• Overall housing starts and completions fall: The number of new homes started across all tenures in 2025-26 was 6,285, a decrease of 4.5% on 2024-25 figures. There was also a 2.7% decrease on new home completions compared to 2024-25. This market stagnation is in line with the worsening infrastructure crisis that continues to hamstring new development across Northern Ireland.
• Homelessness figures remain level: The number of households accepted as homeless has remained consistent with 2024-25 figures. This demonstrates the dedicated work being done in support and prevention services to keep this figure from rising, but it remains much too high and places huge pressure on homelessness services.

‘How much worse does it have to get?’

Commenting on the statistics, Georgia Knapp, policy and public affairs manager at Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Northern Ireland, said: "The quality of our homes is fundamental to our quality of life. The increase in social housing starts is a positive sign, and we commend the hard work of everyone involved. However, these figures fall far short of need as the social housing waiting list continues to grow concurrently. We also welcome the significant work undertaken by homelessness services to keep these figures from rising, as well as the recent announcement from Minister Lyons on the establishment of a Northern Ireland Homelessness Commission, but we must also acknowledge the huge pressure on these services to deal with the breadth and complexity of these issues.”

“The sustained year-on-year increase in the social housing waiting list and housing stress is a moral failure of our society. It is shameful that our current system is not meeting the basic needs of a growing number of people and continues to worsen.”

She added: "Overall, the scale of Northern Ireland’s housing crisis is no longer a surprise to any of us – it’s unfortunately old news now – but what is surprising is the lack of urgency from the Executive. The figures are going the wrong way in almost all the main statistical measures, and they have been for some time now. All of this conspires to create a stressful and difficult environment for people in need of a safe, secure place to call home.”

“We urge the NI Executive and relevant departments to review capital funding, streamline planning processes, and tackle essential infrastructure issues to ensure everyone has a safe, affordable and quality home to call their own. We need long-term, sustainable investment ensure a stable, secure future for everyone in Northern Ireland. This is a problem we can and must fix. How much worse does it have to get before we see positive change?"