Right to Buy "was a mistake" as Northern Ireland Housing Executive sells homes during crisis

New figures released by the government show that 2040 homes have been sold off by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) in the past five years - leading many in the Belfast Live comments section to question the Right to Buy scheme. Over 46,000 people are on the waiting list for a NIHE home.

The Right to Buy scheme allows tenants of five years to apply to buy their home, either fully or partially. The home sales figures were released after a written question from SDLP Communities Spokesperson Daniel McCrossan.

Mr McCrossan said: "Regularly I hear from constituents who have been forced to live with friends or family or in unsuitable conditions because they have no prospect of being allocated a house. With Housing Executive waiting lists at over 46,000 at last count and rents soaring, I cannot understand why we are still selling off our housing stock."

Read more: NIHE sell over 2,000 homes in last five years amid housing crisis

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Reader Itiswhatitisaye says: "Right to Buy is a joke. People bought their properties cheap in the 90s, sold them on for a nicer newer home in a better area, then private landlords bought them up. We all know of someone who has 3, 6 or more ex-council properties in estates, some in several towns. They need to stop selling council properties. Yes people may have a right to own their own home, but not those that are supposed to be for social housing."

Commenter SHADOW01 writes: "This is a joke, people are on the waiting list for years and can't get a place and they're selling houses off even in rural areas .I have a special needs daughter and can't get a house. I have to leave the property I'm in as the landlord has other plans so I'm screwed. I found a property owned by a housing association type run by the housing executive that suited us, only to find out they're selling it."

On our Facebook page, Johnny Graham said: "Letting people buy these homes was a mistake. Those who did got them at a discount too and have profited from rocketing prices. And now they're expensive to build, they don't want to invest in building new homes to keep up with demand."

Sarah McBride replied: "That wasn't so much the issue as not making sure the money raised stayed with NIHE and was only used for buying/building replacement dwellings. That is the big failure, but all government departments are the same, the money just disappears into the treasury black hole."

Michael Jones thinks that eligibility needs to be tightened up: "Housing should be allocated on the basis of need. If an individual is in a position to BUY a Housing Executive home - it raises the question in respect of WHY they were deemed eligible for a home in the first place. There should be regular assessments of need - perhaps every 5 years and if an individual's circumstances improve, there should be the means to remove them from a social home - or give them notice."

A Department for Communities spokesperson said: “There are no plans to bring forward legislation to end the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s House Sales Scheme. The Department has taken forward a broad range of initiatives to address the wider issue of housing provision and need. This work is ongoing with stakeholders, statutory organisations and residents, with the involvement of government at all levels.”

How would you change social housing in Northern Ireland? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.

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