Towards the end of 2019, the completion rate of new homes – both social and private – began to show signs of a slowdown, as reported in the Department for Communities NI Housing statistics.
Anecdotal evidence from our members pointed to an increasing challenge: water infrastructure capacity issues, caused by historic underfunding, were progressively hindering the construction of new homes.
Fast forward five years, and the situation has significantly worsened. In 2024/25, NI Water is facing a funding shortfall of £185m.
According to the NI Audit Office, approximately 100 locations across Northern Ireland now have wastewater treatment works that are at or near full capacity. This has created a major bottleneck, severely limiting the ability to grant planning permission for new developments, including much-needed housing.
With more than 47,000 households on the social housing waiting list, and homelessness up by 11% due to financial hardship and insufficient affordable accommodation, we can’t afford to have a wastewater infrastructure that can’t connect new homes.
The impact of the infrastructure deficit is stark. It’s creating housing inequalities that are leaving towns behind.
The Construction Employers Federation (CEF) has estimated that around 19,000 new homes could be stalled due to inadequate water and wastewater infrastructure, and we currently have around 37,000 existing properties waiting to be connected to the sewage network.
These figures include both social housing projects, which are crucial for addressing the ongoing housing crisis, and private developments that are vital for meeting housing demand. All housing construction is important for economic growth.
The Chartered Institute of Housing is in a unique position to understand the scale of the challenge and the range of solutions that can get us back to building the homes that we need.
A few weeks ago, we published a report that set out an agenda for change in tackling the housing and homelessness crisis and within this we called on government to address the barriers in our infrastructure to building.
While the situation regarding social housing and wastewater treatment capacity in Northern Ireland is challenging, there are variations across different areas.
In some affected areas, the availability of wastewater treatment capacity may limit new housing development in certain catchments. However, this does not preclude all new build starts in local areas.
But we still need to address an outdated and at capacity sewage network. At the heart of it, establishing a new funding model for NI Water is key.
The infrastructure minister has ruled out a model which, he said, would lead to water charges for households, so finding private investment is a route that the Executive will have to explore.
In recent years, developer-funded approaches have been employed as a workaround to move forward with developments that would otherwise be unfeasible due to infrastructure constraints. These solutions have involved things like localised treatment facilities, upgrades to sewerage systems and on-site solutions for stormwater management.
While these solutions can provide temporary relief, they are not a long-term solution to the underlying infrastructure problem.
Vital preventative measures need to be taken now by the Department for Infrastructure and the Department for Communities to prevent further escalation of the housing and homelessness crisis.
And only by establishing a fully funded water utility can we ensure that any new structures are financially viable and capable of supporting the necessary infrastructure for housing development.
The reinstatement of the Stormont institutions offers a critical opportunity to refocus and elevate housing as a top strategic priority within the government.
Northern Ireland is poised to have its first Programme for Government in over a decade, and we are delighted to see housing prioritised as a key focus for the remainder of this Assembly term.
Together with our partners across the housing sector in Northern Ireland, we are identifying actions that can contribute to positive outcomes and we’re pushing our politicians to drive reform and investment.
With a comprehensive strategy to address immediate housing needs and the foundations laid for a sustainable and equitable housing system, we can then start to deliver on the promise of laying the foundations to Northern Ireland’s future homes.