Annex 3
THE QUALITY OF HOUSING STOCK
1.1 The NIHE has conducted seven House Condition
Surveys since its inception in 1972 with the first comprehensive
survey carried out in 1974. That survey revealed that 20% (90,000
dwellings) of the housing stock was unfit, a rate three times
that of England. The standards of fitness have changed considerably
during intervening years and continuous improvement can be evidenced
by the fact that the rate of unfitness has decreased to 4.9% in
2001. The marked decline in the unfitness is, to a large extent,
explained by higher levels of economic prosperity and confidence
in the housing market, resulting in a higher rate of new dwelling
construction and greater interest in improving existing homes
in the private sector assisted by grants expenditure, as well
as the continued investment in social housing. Levels of investment
in housing in Northern Ireland have been consistently higher than
in GB. As one author notes "Northern Ireland has enjoyed
the highest rates of house construction, of demolition and clearance
of unfit properties and of providing grant aid than any other
region." (McPeake: 2001)
1.2 The Housing Executive must seek Departmental
approval to any demolition of its property. The proposal to demolish
must, other than in exceptional circumstances, be accompanied
by a full economic appraisal of options. The appraisal must clearly
demonstrate that demolition is the most cost-effective option.
The exceptions are cases where dwellings are vacant and derelict
and there is no demand or waiting list for housing in the general
area. In these circumstances, a broad costing of options is acceptable.
1.3 It is through this sustained activity
that the disparity between house condition in Northern Ireland
and the rest of GB has been successfully addressed. The state
of repair of the housing stock is especially pertinent, as new
standards for housing "Decent Homes Standard" have been
introduced in England. The Department currently supports the improvement
of the stock through PSA targets for preventing unfitness, adapting
homes to meet special needs and raising energy standards. The
Department is considering the Decent Homes standard application
to Northern Ireland as the system would draw together these strands
into a single measurable index of housing quality.
1.4 The 2001 House Condition Survey collected
information on Northern Ireland's housing stock, judged against
the English Decent Homes Criteria. The main points to note were
that 32% of all homes failed the standard, mainly (88%) on the
thermal comfort criterion, with 17% failing due to disrepair and
10% due to lack of modern facilities. There was considerable variation
across the tenures. Houses can, of course, fail to meet the standard
on more than one criterion.
1.5 Half of all NIHE properties failed the
decent homes standard, whilst only 7% of Housing Association properties
failed, probably due to the relatively new stock in this sector.
Older properties were much more likely to fail—only 1% of
homes built after 1980 failed. Of NIHE and Housing Association
properties that failed, 97% did so on the thermal comfort criterion,
and this was the main reason for failure across the whole housing
stock. This criterion was also particularly notable in some vulnerable
groups—for example, it was the reason for non-decency in
94% of such homes occupied by lone parents. Presenting the House
Condition Survey to the Department, NIHE noted that failure to
meet the thermal comfort criterion was particularly sensitive
to the standards of insulation in a dwelling—a difference
of a few millimetres of loft insulation could mean the house passes
or fails. In addition, the variable nature of the insulation standard
means that replacing solid fuel heating with oil or gas reduces
the thickness required, and renders the home decent.
1.6 The location of non-decent homes is
broadly in line with the location of houses as a whole—there
is only a slightly higher rate of non-decency in isolated rural
areas and in the Belfast Urban Area. There is no obvious pattern
to the profile of non-decency across the district councils, other
than the low incidence in Derry and Limavady and the high incidence
in Craigavon. Derry City Council area has fairly new social housing
stock, whilst the high rate in Craigavon is perhaps to be expected
given the existence of a lot of pre-1980 social housing with high
rates of vacancy.
1.7 Under the Housing (Northern Ireland)
Order 1981, the NIHE may maintain its housing and other stock.
The NIHE provides a response maintenance service and a planned
maintenance programme within the financial resources available
in its approved budgets. This maintenance strategy must be to
such a standard as will preserve the value of the asset represented
by that stock. The NIHE has successfully administered large-scale
improvement projects such as the Heating Replacement Programme
that enjoyed an allocation of £6 million from the Reform
and Reinvestment Initiative to enable an acceleration of the programme.
The NIHE's Maintenance Policy is at present under review, as recommended
in the DTZ Pieda report on The Effectiveness of the Social Housing
Programme, and a report on this is with the Department for consideration.
1.8 The NIHE's heating policy is to make
central heating available to its tenants using natural gas in
areas where it is available, and oil elsewhere. This policy was
introduced in 2000, following the Building Research Establishment's
(BRE) Report into the Province's domestic fuel and heating systems
identified a substantial decline in the use of solid fuel for
space heating in the domestic owner-occupied sector in Northern
Ireland, with a corresponding increase in the use of oil central
heating among homes in that group. This trend had not been reflected
in public sector housing stock. The arrival of natural gas therefore,
meant an opportunity for considering a new fuel as a heating option;
one that was regarded as more controllable, less damaging to the
environment; and price regulated. It was recommended that the
NIHE reassess its heating position and consider, inter-alia, a
move to less polluting fuels.
1.9 This supported the NIHE in its role
as Northern Ireland's Home Energy Conservation Authority (HECA),
which requires the NIHE to bring about significant improvements
in the energy efficiency of the housing stock throughout the residential
sector, including improvements in air quality.
1.10 The designation of NIHE as Northern
Ireland's HECA highlighted a potential conflict between the NIHE's
landlord policy of favouring mainly solid fuel and delivering
its new responsibilities under HECA. However conscious of the
NIHE's heavy reliance on solid fuel for domestic heating, and
its HECA responsibilities, it responded to reports that generating
electricity for the domestic sector and dependency on solid fuel
creates higher levels of emissions of both carbon and sulphur
dioxide than either gas or oil because of its high carbon content,
by implementing BRE's recommendations.
1.11 Housing Associations registered with
the Department are required to maintain their stock using rental
income. The minimum standards for maintenance works will be set
out in the amended Housing Association Guide due for completion
in Summer 2004. Officials routinely audit Housing Associations
to ensure compliance. In addition to maintenance, Housing Associations
conduct a range of adaptations to make dwellings more suitable
for tenants with special needs. The Department is committed via
its PSA target to deliver 1,200 adaptations in 2003-04, this was
amended upwards to 1,500 adaptations with a projected spend of
£3 million.
1.12 The Housing Association Guide provides
essential guidance for Registered Housing Associations in accessing
funding from the Department for Social Development, for the provision
of social housing for rent. The Guide covers the revised financial
aspects introduced by the Housing (NI) Order 1992, and—amongst
other things—lays down the Department's main Procedural,
Design, and Procurement requirements for Associations undertaking
schemes. The Department uses the Guide to ensure that all properties
becoming part of the social housing stock meet required standards.
The Guide has been in existence for 12 years, and although it
has been periodically amended—and augmented by numerous
Housing Association Circulars—inevitably the structure and
some of the guidance is now outdated. The Guide is currently under
review with the intention of making the amended guidance available
on the Department's web-site by Summer 2004—some revised
elements of Part 1 of the Guide have been accessible since April
2003. The Department is using the review to restructure the Guide,
update and modify guidance to Associations to reflect current
and anticipated standards, legislative requirements etc, and to
illustrate best practice in a number of areas.
1.13 An example of the adoption of Best
Practice followed innovative work conducted by the Joseph Rowntree
Foundation (JRF), the UK's largest independent social policy research
and development charity. In the 1980s, the JRF became particularly
concerned about the quality of British housing and its accessibility
to large segments of the population. In 1991 the Lifetime Homes
concept was developed by a group of housing experts. Lifetime
Homes have 16 design features that ensure a new house or flat
will fully meet the needs of most households. In the mid 1990s
the Government indicated its wish to extend Part M of the building
regulations, which deals with accessibility to cover houses as
well as public buildings. The new Part M regulations came into
force for all new housing built after October 1999. Lifetime Homes
features add to Part M regulations the built-in flexibility that
make the homes easy to adapt as people's lives change.
1.14 The Department adopted the Lifetime
Homes standard in April 1997 and promoted its use by introducing
additional funding by way of a supplementary multiplier in April
1998. In April 2001 it was made a requirement for Housing Associations
to build all new general needs housing to the Standard. The Standard
makes a home accessible to the occupant who lives there and to
visitors. The adoption of the Standard has resulted in fewer adaptations
being required and where they are, the works have been easier
due to house design. This is especially relevant as approximately
£30 million is spent annually adapting property in Northern
Ireland. The additional cost of incorporating the Lifetime Homes
standards across tenures has been estimated to range from £165-£545
per dwelling which could be recouped in 3-10 years. It has also
been suggested that the Lifetime Homes Standard promotes social
integration by reducing need for temporary residential care, has
a role in accident prevention and associated savings in health
costs. It has made the housing stock more accessible and as a
consequence more sustainable.
1.15 In 1989 "Secured by Design"
(SBD), a police initiative, was introduced in GB for new houses
and housing estates. Its purpose was to encourage the building
industry to adopt crime prevention measures in development design;
and to assist in reducing the opportunity for crime and the fear
of crime, creating a safer and more secure environment. The Northern
Ireland version of SBD was formally launched by the police service
in September 1998. The scheme provides advice on designing out
crime and is available free to Housing Associations from the Police
Architectural Liaison Officer. The Department for Social Development
embraced the principle of Secured by Design and after consultation
with the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA)
issued guidance in February 2001 to Housing Associations recommending
that each Association should urgently adopt, as a matter of policy,
a rolling programme of obtaining advice from the Architectural
Liaison Service for all its existing housing stock. The Department
also introduced funding by way of a supplementary multiplier for
all Housing Association new build, rehabilitation and re-improvement
schemes to achieve the "Secured by Design award".
1.16 The Housing (NI) Order 2003, provides
for a Grants scheme to tackle unfitness in the private sector
and enhancing the potential for a more independent lifestyle for
people with disabilities, in much the same way as councils do
in England, Scotland and Wales. The revised scheme follows the
private sector grant provisions of the Housing, Grants, Construction
and Regeneration Act 1996. It is largely discretionary while continuing
with mandatory and discretionary disabled facilities grant. The
discretionary nature of the scheme allows an element of flexibility,
to better manage demand and the budget as well as allowing better
targeting of resources at areas, such as rural areas, where unfitness
is greatest. In addition, the discretionary scheme will help the
NIHE tackle social exclusion by supporting vulnerable people,
improving the quality of housing stock and contributing to ensuring
that there is an adequate supply of housing to meet needs.
1.17 Despite the important role played by
grant-aid in improving the condition of the private sector stock
and in particular in bringing unfit dwellings up to the Fitness
Standard, more than 3,000 dwellings become unfit each year. Most
dwellings are unfit due to unsatisfactory facilities for the preparation
and cooking of food, disrepair and dampness, reinforcing the need
for sufficient investment to ensure that the overall condition
of the stock continues to improve. In 2001 there remained nearly
32,000 dwellings that were statutorily unfit. Most of these are:
(i) to be found in rural areas (particularly
in isolated rural areas);
(ii) occupied by the most vulnerable sections
of society—the elderly and particularly those aged at least
75, the unemployed, people who were sick or had a disability and
households on low incomes (all are over represented in terms of
the percentages of those who live in unfit dwellings); and
(iii) have been built before 1919.
CONCLUSION
1.18 The quality of the housing stock in
Northern Ireland has been transformed since the inception of NIHE.
The sustained investment in housing over the last 30 years has
addressed disparities between Northern Ireland and elsewhere in
the UK. Public expenditure on housing across tenures through new
build, grants, demolitions and maintenance has enabled significant
reductions in the rates of unfitness and will support Government
efforts to meet or surpass existing and proposed standards for
housing.
March 2004
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