AQW 9249/22-27

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 20/03/2024
Answered On Date: 12/04/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail (i) the powers his Department has to legally compel (a) private; and (b) public owners of derelict buildings to bring them up to a habitable standard; and (ii) the number of times this has been done in the last five years, broken down by constituency.

Answer:

My Department does not have specific powers to compel property owners to bring derelict buildings up to habitable standards, however Councils have authority to deal with privately owned derelict buildings that are insecure and open to public access.

The powers which local Councils have to address dilapidated buildings fall under the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/dilapidation

Environmental Health Officers have powers to enforce the statutory minimum fitness standard for housing, as set out in Article 46 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.