Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has announced a series of changes aimed at increasing the delivery of new social homes across Northern Ireland, including an update to the grant amount housing associations will receive for new construction starts.

Following a meeting with the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA), Minister Lyons confirmed that, to secure the maximum possible number of new social homes from his Department's budget, the proportion of grant funding paid for new social housing starts will be decreased.

Minister Lyons stated the challenging financial context requires an innovative approach. "I remain committed to bringing forward proposals on how we can build more homes with the budget available," he said.

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Adding: "These changes will achieve better value and more social homes for those who need them from the budget that my Department provides towards new social housing, a budget of over £177.5 million in this financial year."

The change is set to provide certainty and stability to Housing Associations, governing the Department's support for new social housing builds from Monday, 1 December 2025, until the end of the 2026/27 financial year. The rate was last changed in 2023, and the new update takes account of factors including construction costs, inflation, rent levels, and interest rates.

As a result of the changes, the grant provided to a Housing Association to start building a new social home will, on average, reduce from 54% of the total cost to 46%.

The Minister noted that achieving the Programme for Government target of 5,850 social housing starts within the mandate remains "extremely challenging" given the constrained budget.

Mr Lyons also highlighted potential mechanisms to reduce overall costs, including the use of Financial Transaction Capital (FTC) to enable associations to access lower-cost finance, and the use of government land for building projects. He thanked the Housing Associations for their partnership in delivering the new build programme.