AQW 20590/17-22

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 18/06/2021
Answered On Date: 06/07/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities (i) to detail the number of houses, bought under the Right to Buy scheme, that are now being rented by private landlords; and (ii) for her assessment of how this trend is affecting the quality of life and economic well-being of the communities in which this is happening.

Answer:

The Housing Executive does not maintain a record of the number of houses, bought under the Right to Buy scheme, that are now being rented by private landlords, however, a research survey (40 years of the House Sales Scheme Outcome and Experiences 1979-2019:

www.nihe.gov.uk/Documents/Research/House-Sales-Scheme-Report/House-Sales-Scheme-Report.aspx), carried out for the Housing Executive in 2019, indicated that around 26,670 sold former Housing Executive properties were rented from a private landlord at the time of the research. This represented around 22% of the properties sold to tenants by the Housing Executive over the life of the House Sales Scheme up to November 2018, when the sample for the survey was drawn.

The survey did not examine community quality of life or economic well-being, however, it did include a number of questions on housing costs for renters