Housing

Overview

The supply of affordable and energy-efficient housing is essential to developing and maintaining healthy and happy communities. This is a shared priority across the British-Irish Council’s eight Member Administrations.

To that end, the Housing Work Sector collaborates to share policy and practice in areas such as the design and supply of housing across a range of tenures, including social housing.

Lead Administration

The Housing Work Sector was established in 2009 and is chaired by the Northern Ireland Executive.

Current Focus

The most recent British-Irish Council Housing Ministerial meeting took place in Belfast on 19/20 September 2024, hosted by the Northern Ireland Executive. The gathering included a plenary meeting of the eight Member Administrations of the Council, and an afternoon of informative site visits, as well as bilateral meetings.  In the plenary session, Ministers reviewed the work of the 2021-24 programme of the Housing Work Sector.

The scope of this period of work included issues such as approaches to design issues, accessing suitable and affordable housing, and the linkages between homelessness, and drug and alcohol consumption. Looking ahead, the Ministers agreed a programme for future work until 2027, which will primarily focus on the following five themes:

• Residential Retrofit
• Private Rental Sector
• Affordable Housing Models
• Attracting Private Sector Investment
• Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation

At the plenary meeting, Ministers also heard a presentation by Justin Cartwright (Chartered Institute of Housing) on ‘Housing: A Whole System Approach’.

During the gathering, the Ministers undertook site visits to view examples of innovative housing meeting a variety of housing needs. They visited the King’s Hall site where Choice Housing Ireland Limited (CHIL) has completed a mixed-tenure apartment project. The project features a mix of private, affordable, and social housing. The apartments are also built utilising green technologies and sustainable materials for energy efficiency to lessen the ecological footprint. The Ministers also visited the Lisburn premises of MACS (Mulholland After Care Services), where CEO Kate Martin and her staff explained how MACS supports vulnerable young people aged 16-25 at risk of homelessness, mental health challenges, or other issues. The MACS Longstone office offers housing support, mentoring, and programmes to help young people gain independence and build life skills. MACS aims to empower young people through tailored interventions and community involvement, with a focus on well-being, personal development, and building confidence.

Following up on this, the Housing Work sector has held official-level meetings on Private Rental Sector across the administrations, and paid a study visit to Cardiff in June 2025.