The changing housing system in Northern Ireland 1998-2007

Abstract

This paper examines changing housing provision and policies in Northern Ireland during the period 1998–2007. The theoretical framework derives from the political economy of housing and the focus is on the extent to which devolution has impacted upon housing provision and policy since 1998. The distinctive history of housing provision in Northern Ireland since partition is reviewed. The period since the Good Friday Agreement has been characterized by periodic suspensions of the Northern Ireland Assembly and most housing policy initiatives, as between 1971 and 1998, have come from direct rule ministers following Westminster developments. Some distinctive features of social housing administration have been retained, with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive still playing a major role, despite a high level of sales to tenants. Housing provision in Northern Ireland has come also more to resemble the situation in the Republic of Ireland, where a long economic boom has been associated with rapid growth in house prices despite greatly increased levels of new building. It is concluded that there is no significant evidence that devolution after 1998 has resulted in distinctive housing policy or housing provision developments in Northern Ireland and that, as in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, housing provision has become increasingly market-driven.