Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Councillors briefed on Housing Executive plans

Housing Executive investment in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area during 2025/26 amounted to £33.83m.

At the full monthly meeting of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council last week, Caroline Connor, Housing Executive Interim Director of Strategic Housing Authority, provided an update on pressures in the housing sector while setting out the organisation’s progress over the last 12 months and outlining future plans to local reps at the annual Housing Investment Plan update on Monday 26th October 2026.

At the meeting, Caroline Connor said: “Challenges within the housing sector remain significant, especially with regards to improving existing homes, meeting the demand for new homes and for temporary accommodation. Our focus is on targeted investment in housing supply, improving the quality our own homes and providing support to those who need it most - this is essential in improving outcomes for individuals, families and communities.

“Over recent years, we have been pleased to be able to deliver programmes of improvements to our own homes, including energy efficiency measures. During 2025/6 we invested £10.85m in Housing Executive properties and further proposed spend of £12.86m is planned for our homes across the Borough in 2026/27.

“Whist this is good news to many of our tenants; councillors have been made aware of the requirement for access to longer term funding streams to be able to continue investing in our homes to a decent standard. In relation to new-build, investment in homes in the Borough saw 325 Housing Association units on-site at March 2026.

“Any addition to housing stock is a benefit and we continue to make for case for funding to meet the need and work with Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and the housing sector to identify opportunities for more development in the years ahead. 

“The vital assistance for some of most vulnerable households in our communities continued throughout the year, with £3.66m invested through the Supporting People programme, enabling 54 services to provide housing support to 1,243 people last year.

“Across the Borough, 864 people who presented as homeless were accepted for support last year – a ringfenced budget for 2025/26 and 2026/27 will help to focus on homelessness prevention and providing the right help at the right time for people who need it. We know this is more important than ever when we continue to face deep rooted challenges in the housing sector.

“In addition to investing in homes and communities in 2025/26, we are also pleased to have been able to support the economic future of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area with a steady, positive impact on employment and local supply chains, demonstrating the vital economic lever that housing provides, both Northern Ireland wide and throughout our local communities.

“Whilst we recognise the challenging environment we are operating in, we are also confident that there are many opportunities to build on the great work carried out through partnerships with our local councils.

“I am looking forward to continuing this work as we deliver against our shared goal of providing better places to live for the people and communities we serve.”

In Antrim and Newtownabbey: The social housing waiting list included 2,854 applicants in housing stress at 31 March 2026. Single and small family households comprise 71% of the housing stress waiting list in the council area. 1,137 people presented as homeless during 2025/26, 864 of whom were awarded homeless full duty status. 447 homes were allocated to waiting list applicants. Last year, the Housing Executive carried out the installation of new heating in 626 homes, 345 double glazing installations, bathroom and kitchen rewiring in 111 homes, 180 properties received replacement bathrooms, and 236 door schemes were completed across the Borough. External Cyclical Maintenance works and low carbon special schemes were also implemented in 257 and 14 homes respectively.

325 new build units are on-site, with 582 planned to start in the next three years. NIHE funded 54 Supporting People services including 46 supported housing accommodation-based schemes. 20 Housing Executive properties were sold to sitting tenants during 2025/26.