Stormont Housing Minister Margaret Ritchie has outlined plans to support owner occupiers remaining in their communities once regeneration work has been completed.

The Minister said she wants to ensure that communities stay together as much as possible after regeneration takes place.

At present, owner occupiers who have to give up their home in regeneration areas get compensation.

However, it is often insufficient to buy a new home in their community after regeneration takes place.

In imaginatively addressing this issue, the Minister has come up with two new options.

Firstly, the owner occupier will be able to buy a social home in the area without having to meet the five year qualifying period.

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Secondly, owner occupiers will be able to part rent, part buy a home in their area. Many owner occupiers simply have no means to make up the shortfall between valuation of their present home and a new home in their area.

Ms Ritchie said: "These new opportunities for owner occupiers in regeneration areas will extend the choice currently available to them. It will allow them the chance to stay together during and, more importantly, after the work has been completed to renew their neighbourhoods."

The part rent part buy proposal will allow owner occupiers to invest the compensation for their former home into their new home with any difference between the two valuations taken as a 'Golden Share' by a Housing Association.

Rent or interest will not be charged on this Golden Share which will only be realised once ownership of the property changes.

The former owner occupier will, in effect, swop the value from their former home into the new home. They will not have to pay a penny more than they were previously paying before their former home was acquired.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive has already begun work to identify those owner occupiers currently living in affected areas. A detailed policy paper will be published in the coming weeks and a period of consultation with all stakeholders will then begin.

(PR/JM)