Northern Ireland Housing Statistics 2025-26

Key points

The total housing stock as of April 2026 was 848,500.
The Affordable Warmth Scheme improved 1,839 homes in 2025-26.
On 31 March 2026, there were 50,381 applicant households on the social housing waiting list. Of these applicants, 39,008 households were in housing stress.
In 2025-26, 10,852 households were accepted as statutorily homeless.
In the private rented sector the average weekly rent was £138 in 2024-25, while in the social rented sector the average weekly rent was £98.
In April-June 2026, the House Price Index stands at 124.6, a 9.2% increase on the same quarter in 2025. The standardised house price for this quarter is £202,487.
In 2025-26, the average rates bill was £1,239.

Introduction

This annual compendium of statistics contains information on a range of areas relating to housing. The report is divided into sections covering: supply; energy; social renting demand; private renting demand; owner occupier demand and household characteristics. In this summary document you will find quick and concise coverage of each of these topics. More in depth statistics and information on methodology can be found in the accompanying tables and appendix documents at:

https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/publications/northern-ireland-housing-statistics-2025-26

Analytics Division (AD) receives data for this report from a number of data providers. AD carries out a number of validation checks to quality assure all data received, however, responsibility for accuracy of the data supplied lies primarily with the source.

The Northern Ireland Housing Statistics 2025-26 is the fourth edition to be released in html format, however, this continues to reflect the updated format introduced in 2016-17.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in February 2019. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled National Statistics (or ‘accredited official statistics’). Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. Please see: Accredited official statistics - Office for Statistics Regulation

This report presents figures for the period April 2025-March 2026.

Lead Statisticians: Katie McFadden, Kerry Millin

Section One: Supply

This section provides a wide range of information relating to housing supply. Detailed data on housing stock, tenure, new dwelling starts and completions, volume of construction, and planning applications and decisions can be found in the accompanying tables.

Key housing supply figures

The total housing stock as of April 2026 is 848,541, an increase of 0.8% when compared with 2025 (841,827).
The average household size in 2024-25 was 2.5.
The total housing stock per 1,000 population in 2025-26 was
At 31 March 2025, there were 138,700 affordable homes in Northern Ireland.

Household tenure 2024-25

Based on the 2024-25 Family Resources Survey, 70% of households lived in dwellings that were owned outright or owned with a mortgage (41% and 29% respectively).
In the same period, 17% of households were privately rented and 12% were social rented.

Building control starts and completions 2025-26

Note: This publication reports on two different measures of social housing: Building Control and SHDP. These figures often differ from each other but this is not due to error. The difference is partially explained by the timing of when they are recorded but in more recent years is also influenced by social housing units being typically built privately and subsequently acquired by social housing providers. Therefore, while Building Control will correctly reflect construction of a privately owned dwelling, upon occupancy the property will be a social dwelling and will be reflected as such in the SHDP figures. For more information see Appendix - Section One.

There were 6,285 new dwelling starts in 2025-26, a decrease of 4.5% on 2024-25. Based on the defined Building Control purpose group, almost nine in every ten dwelling starts (5,621) were in the private sector, with the remaining (664) being in the social sector.
There were 5,956 new dwelling completions in 2025-26, a 2.7% decrease on 2024-25. Similar to housing starts, almost nine in every ten dwelling completions (5,141) were in the private sector, with just over one tenth (815) in the social sector, based on the defined Building Control purpose group.

Residential planning decisions granted 2025-26

Map based on Planning DFI data and developed by Analytics Division, DfC. Copyright: Crown Copyright and database rights MOU209

Of the 5,755 residential planning decisions made in 2025-26, 95% (5,457) were granted.
The highest proportions of residential planning decisions granted were for urban extensions and alterations (99%), rural extensions and alterations (98%) and other residential - rural (97%.)
Newry, Mourne & Down received the highest number of residential planning applications during 2025-26 (835) but also had the lowest proportion of decisions granted (89%). The Local Government District with the greatest proportion of decisions granted was Derry City and Strabane (99%), closely followed by Belfast (98%).

Section Two: Energy

This section provides information relating to domestic energy. Detailed data on household fuel type, energy efficiency, Affordable Warmth Scheme and Boiler Replacement Scheme can be found in the accompanying tables.

Central heating by fuel type 2016

Information on central heating is taken from the House Condition Survey (HCS), the most recent of which is the 2016 edition, which defines central heating as a heating system with a distribution system sufficient to provide heat in at least two rooms.

The percentage of homes with central heating has risen from 95% in 2001 to 99% in 2016.
While gas has seen the largest increase in installations in this time frame, accounting for 24% of heating systems in 2016, the majority of homes still had oil central heating (67% of heating systems).

Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) ratings 2016

SAP is the Government’s recommended system for home energy ratings as it allows comparisons of energy efficiency. The SAP rating is expressed as a logarithmic scale, which normally runs from 1 (very inefficient) to 100 (no energy costs).

In 2016, social housing (NIHE and housing associations) had the highest SAP rating of all tenures at 72.63.
The private rented sector and owner occupied dwellings had ratings of 65.33 and 65.11 respectively.

Affordable Warmth Scheme 2025-26

The Affordable Warmth Scheme, introduced in September 2014, is targeted at fuel poor households in the private sector.

In 2025-26, there were a total of 1,969 approvals issued.
Improvements were made to 1,839 homes at a cost of £10 million.

Section Three: Social Rented Housing

This section provides information relating to the social rented sector (Northern Ireland Housing Executive & housing associations). Detailed data on average weekly rents, housing benefit receipt, social housing waiting lists and allocation and homelessness can be found in the accompanying tables.

Waiting lists, housing stress & allocations 2025-26

Note: information on waiting lists, housing stress and allocations is also provided in the quarterly Northern Ireland Housing Bulletin.

The Housing Executive holds data on all housing applications and allocations made through the social housing selection scheme in the Housing Management System.

The total number of applicants on the social housing waiting list (with no existing NIHE/housing association tenancy) at 31 March 2026 was 50,381 households.
Of these applicants, 39,008 households were in ‘housing stress’. This means they have 30 or more points under the social housing selection scheme.
The local government districts with the highest number of applicants were Belfast (14,196 households) and Derry City & Strabane (6,556 households).
The number of properties allocated by the NIHE and housing associations to applicants on the waiting list who were not already social sector tenants was 5,943. This equated to 70% of total allocations made in 2025-26.
The remaining properties (2,507) allocated by the NIHE and housing associations in 2025-26 were to tenants who had applied for a transfer from an existing tenancy.

Homelessness 2025-26

Note: For more in-depth information regarding homelessness in Northern Ireland please refer to the latest edition of the Northern Ireland Homelessness Bulletin.

Full duty applicants (FDA) status is granted to a household presenting as homeless when NIHE has determined the household is eligible for assistance. The NIHE checks that the household has a priority need for accommodation and that they did not become homeless or threatened with homelessness intentionally. When a household is granted FDA status the NIHE has an obligation to ensure that accommodation becomes available for that household to occupy.

In 2025-26, of the 16,085 households presenting as homeless, over two-thirds (67%) were accepted as full duty applicants (10,852 households) while 23% were rejected (3,675). Of those households accepted as full duty applicants during the year, 1,962 were discharged (Refer to Appendix 3 for definitions of each outcome).
Families (32%) and single males (27%) were the household types with the highest proportion of homelessness acceptances in 2025-26.
Within the single males category, those aged between 26 and 59 were the highest acceptances of homelessness with 2,295 cases.

Most common reasons for being accepted as homeless 2025-26

Section Four: Private Rented Housing

This section provides information relating to private renting demand. Detailed data on average rent and length of time of residence for private renters can be found in the accompanying tables. Estimates in this section are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The survey has been carried out in Northern Ireland since 2002-03, while it has been running in Great Britain since 1992.

Average weekly rent

The estimated average (median) rent per week for the private rented sector in Northern Ireland in 2024-25 remained at £138, £58 below the UK average (£196). Rent in Northern Ireland was lower than England (£206), Wales (£160) and Scotland (£147).
For comparison, the estimated average (median) rent per week for the social rented sector in Northern Ireland in 2024-25 was £98, £14 lower than the UK average (£112) and £40 lower than that of the private rented sector.

Time in residence

In 2024-25, approximately one in seven (14%) of private renters in Northern Ireland had resided in their accommodation for less than 12 months, which increased to one fifth (20%) for the UK as a whole.
The proportion of private renters in Northern Ireland residing at their current address for five years or more was higher than for the UK as a whole (42% and 31%, respectively).

Section Five: Owner Occupied Housing

This section provides information relating to owner occupied housing. Detailed data on the Northern Ireland House Price Index, National House Building Council (NHBC) new house sales and prices, the Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Housing Scheme, mortgages and mortgage possessions can be found in the accompanying tables.

House Price Index - Quarter 2: April - June 2026

The NI House Price Index, produced by Land and Property Services, provides a measure of change in the price of a standardised residential property sold in Northern Ireland. The index uses information on all verified residential property sales as recorded by His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The reference base period is Quarter 1 2023, with the index set to 100 for that period. Results for the most recent quarter are provisional and subject to revision.

The NI HPI stands at 124.6 for April-June 2026, with a standardised price of £202,487. The overall index showed an increase of 2.1% compared with the previous quarter in 2026, and an increase of 9.2% on the same quarter in 2025.
Verified residential property sales are defined as sales recorded by HMRC which could be matched to a domestic property in the NI Valuation List. In April-June 2026 there were 5,324 verified residential property sales. This was an increase of 8.2% on the same quarter of 2025.

NHBC new dwelling sales and prices 2025-26

Data for new house sales and prices are derived from information provided by solicitors to the National House Building Council (NHBC). NHBC’s primary purpose is to help raise standards to protect homeowners. NHBC is an independent non-profit distributing company, reinvesting all resources in further research and work to improve the construction standard of new UK houses for the benefit of homeowners.

The average price of NHBC-registered new houses in 2025-26 was £276,000, an increase of just over 3% on 2024-25 and represents the twelfth consecutive year of growth.(Note that the monetary amounts for individual years have not been adjusted to account for inflation.)
The number of NHBC new house sales recorded for 2025-26 was 1,278, an increase of 15% from the previous year (1,111).
The trend in NHBC new house sales since 2002-03 shows a peak of 7,005 sales in 2004-05, followed by a decline to 1,142 sales in 2013-14. Sales then increased slightly, reaching 1,613 in 2018-19, before generally declining again to 1,078 in 2023-24. Although the number of new house sales has increased in each of the last two years, the long-term trend remains one of much lower sales than those seen in the early 2000s.

First time buyers: Lending and affordability

The mean age of first-time buyers remained stable at 33 years in 2025, the same as in each of the previous three years. The mean income for first-time buyers in 2025 was £52,074, almost double the 2012 figure of £26,999, having increased each year over this period.
The number of loans granted to first time buyers rose year-on-year, from 2,900 in 2008 to 10,800 in 2019. However, these numbers have fluctuated since. In 2025, 10,100 loans were granted to first time buyers, an increase of 14.8% from 2024 (8,800).
During the same period, the mean percentage advance for first-time buyers generally increased from 70% (2008) to 79% (2025), with a small amount of fluctuation in the intervening years.
The mean capital and interest payments as a percentage of income for first time buyers peaked at 28.9% in 2008. It then generally declined, dropping to 15% in 2020, before increasing in each of the following five years to 19.5% in 2025.

Co-ownership

Co-Ownership supports individuals who wish to buy their own home but who cannot do so without help. A share of the property is bought and the remainder is rented from Co-Ownership. There is a cap on the value of the property that can be purchased which was £210,000 in 2025-26.

A total of 967 applications for Co-ownership were completed in 2025-26. This was an increase of 8.5% from the previous year (891).
There was a decrease of £3.8 million in capital expenditure from £35.1 million in 2024-25 to £31.3 million in 2025-26.
At 31 March 2026, 11,024 homes were owned through the scheme, an increase of 180 (1.7%) from 31 March 2025.
In 2025-26, the median price of properties purchased through the scheme was £174,500. The represents a 9.1% increase on the previous year (£160,000).
The local government district with the largest Co-ownership housing stock in 2025-26 was Belfast (1,907), closely followed by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (1,848). Housing stock increased from the previous year in all areas, apart from Lisburn & Castlereagh and Newry, Mourne & Down LGDs which decreased by 10 and 7 properties, respectively.

Northern Ireland Co-ownership Housing Stock 2025-26 broken down by LGD

Map based on Co-ownership data and developed by Analytics Division, DfC. Copyright: Crown Copyright and database rights MOU209

Section Six: Household Characteristics

This section provides information relating to a range of household characteristics. Detailed data on household projections, household type, tenure and household income and expenditure can be found in the accompanying tables.

Household income and housing costs by tenure

Results from the 2024-25 Family Resources Survey show that households buying with a mortgage had the highest estimated average weekly household income of £1,441, followed by those who owned outright (£1,019) and private renters (£881). The social rented sector had the lowest estimated average weekly income of £632.
Households with the highest housing costs were in the private rented sector, at £135 per week. This compares to estimates of £100 in the social rented sector and £79 for those buying with a mortgage.
In 2024-25, 5% of households in Northern Ireland had housing costs which were more than 30% of their weekly household income. This proportion increases to 9% when those who fully own their own home are excluded.

Satisfaction with home, 2025-26

Overall, 92% of adults were satisfied with their home (house/apartment or flat). Adults living in the least deprived areas were more likely to be satisfied with their home (95%) than those living in the most deprived areas (84%). In addition, adults without a disability were more likely to be satisfied with their home (94%) than adults who have a disability (88%).
When asked about the condition of their accommodation, 86% of households felt it was good, with 2% stating it was poor. More than nine in every ten households (95%) felt their accommodation met their current needs, however this figure decreased to around seven in ten (72%) when asked if the accommodation would continue to meet their needs in the longer term.

Estimated weekly household expenditure

Note: For a full list of what ‘average spend’ encompasses, refer to Table 6.7 and Appendix - Section six.

In 2023-25, the average weekly household spend in Northern Ireland was £583.80, 6.2% lower than the UK average spend (£622.60).

Average rates bill 2025-26

Map based on DoF data and developed by Analytics Division, DfC. Crown Copyright and database rights MOU209.

Average Rates Bill by LGD 2025-26

Rates are a property tax based on the valuation of homes in Northern Ireland. The income from rates provides funding for services at both local (council) and regional (NI Assembly) levels.
In 2025-26 the average rates bill was £1,239.
The highest average bill payable was in Newry, Mourne and Down (£1,393) and the lowest was in Belfast (£1,105).

Notes

Symbols and conventions

The following symbols are used throughout the publication:

.. Not available

-: None

** Negligible

P Provisional

R Revised

N/A Not applicable

1. Changes for this release

Table 1.2a ‘Estimated stock of dwellings by Tenure and Local Government District’ is an additional table that reports the estimated number of dwellings in each LGD broken down by tenure.

Table 1.5 ‘Affordable Housing Stock by Local Government District’ is an additional table with statistics on affordable housing in Northern Ireland. The table reports information on NIHE, Housing Association and Co-Ownership homes.

Table 5.5a ‘Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Housing Scheme Stock by local government district 2024/25 - 2025/26’ is an additional table which reports the number of Co-ownership homes in each local government district.

2. Previous release changes

Table 6.13 ‘General condition of accommodation’, Table 6.14 ‘Accommodation meets current needs’ and Table 6.15 ‘As you get older do you think your current accommodation will continue to meet your needs in the longer term?’ are additional tables that report results from the Continuous Household Survey. Each table provides a breakdown by gender, age, religious background, marital status, disability, dependants, level of deprivation, and whether you live in a urban or rural environment.

3. User engagement

Northern Ireland Housing Statistics:

User feedback is welcome so we would like to encourage your participation in our user engagement survey, and thank you in advance.

4. Accredited Official Statistics

Accredited Official Statistics are official statistics that have been independently reviewed by Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) and confirmed to comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Producers of accredited official statistics are legally required to ensure they maintain compliance with the Code. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed in 2012 as part of the assessment of Statistics on Housing and Benefits in Northern Ireland, with accreditation confirmed in July 2013. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice and should be labelled National Statistics (or ‘accredited official statistics’). In February 2019, a compliance check confirmed that the designation (or accredited official statistics labelling) should continue.

Our statistical practice is regulated by OSR. They set the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, the following improvements have been made in order to continue to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics:

Accessibility: Accessibility has been enhanced through additional signposting, clear labelling of appendices and provision hyperlinks to supporting information. Data has also been made available in Open Source format.
QAAD: In order to introduce greater clarification within the associated Quality Assurance of Administrative Data (QAAD) document, AD have thoroughly reviewed processes behind data acquisition and subsequent data publication. This has resulted in the inclusion of additional detail, rationale and examples, in regard to data provision, checking and validation; ultimately allowing for better justification of assurance levels.

It is the Department for Communities’ responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected of Accredited Official Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. Accredited Official Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.