Fresh data on the number of social houses built in the past five years show marked disparity between rural and urban areas.
The figures have prompted calls for people living outside the north’s cities and main towns to be encouraged to join the social housing waiting list.
The data provided by Communities Minister Gordon Lyons in response to a written question from Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan, is broken down by parliamentary constituencies, which roughly have equal populations.
It shows the SDLP representative’s constituency has had the greatest number of social houses built since 2019.
Some 1,630 new social houses have been completed in Foyle over the past five years – more than double the number in North Belfast, the parliamentary constituency with the second highest number.
However, in South Down, there have been no new social homes completed in the past two years, and a total of 173 since 2019, while in Mid Ulster the annual average for the past five years is fewer than 16 completions.
Fermanagh-South Tyrone has the second lowest number of social houses built in the five year period, according to the figures, with 137 completions.
At 560, West Belfast has seen the third greatest number of social houses built since 2019, followed by East Belfast with 439.
The regional director of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Justin Cartwright said the figures revealed “significant disparities, reflecting both the demand for housing and the challenges associated with development”.
He said the comparatively low number of new social homes in rural areas “may not entirely indicate a lack of need but rather a lesser propensity for residents to sign up for social housing”.
“Social housing is less integrated into the community framework in some rural areas, leading to lower registration on waiting lists despite genuine need,” he said.
“The data highlights the complex interplay between housing need, land availability and the viability of projects.”
Mr Cartwright said the overall data “underscores the need for a more robust approach to addressing social housing needs in underrepresented areas”.
“This includes encouraging more people from rural areas to join the social housing waiting list, thereby making their needs more visible,” he said.
“Additionally, there needs to be a concerted effort to foster community support for social housing projects. This support is critical to overcoming opposition and ensuring that developments can proceed to meet the needs of all communities.”
Earlier this month, The Irish New revealed that Mr Lyons had pledged to “shortly” seek Stormont executive approval for a draft housing strategy – some two-and-a-half years after his predecessor launched a similar set of proposals.
