Christmas wish comes true after six-year social home wait

The family of a teenager who has muscular dystrophy and autism say they have experienced a sense of relief after moving into a new north Belfast social home before Christmas.

Sixteen-year-old Curtis Herron uses a wheelchair and his parents have been on a waiting list for an accessible social home for six years.

The family had been living in Whiteabbey in a house that was difficult for Curtis to navigate as the doorways were too narrow.

Curtis was one of 48,000 households waiting for a social home in Northern Ireland - 36,000 of those are deemed to be in housing stress.

Additional money was allocated by Stormont for social housing in October's monitoring round, after a cut earlier in the year.

The cut had meant Northern Ireland was on track for about 400 new social homes - well short of the 2,000 target.

But the October uplift has improved optimism for some housing associations.

Curtis said the wait for a social home had been frustrating for his family.

"There were only two rooms I could get into [in the family's previous home], that was it and there were five rooms," he said.

He found it "unfair" and said he felt "a bit useless" in this situation.

His family have now moved into a new Clanmil Housing Association home in north Belfast in time to celebrate Christmas there.

Curtis said the move was "a pretty close situation".

"The dates were getting pushed back and I was in my head thinking: 'Are we going to get this house before Christmas or not?" Curtis said.

"It feels good that we are in somewhere suitable."

There are adaptations to the bungalow to give Curtis more independence - for example the kitchen counter can be lowered which has allowed him to cook dinner for the family.

"I can get in to every single room, there isn't any tight spaces or gaps," he said.

"Things are easier, if I'm in a small place I don't get much quality of life... I have a back garden which I can actually go out [in]."

Curtis would like to see more social homes built to this standard to try and address the huge number of families on a waiting list.

"I know there aren't a lot of houses like this about and that lowers the chance of people getting one. I think there should be more," he said.

Ark Housing association has plans for a scheme that includes 45 social homes in Dungannon and chief executive Jim McShane is feeling more optimistic about it following the October monitoring round.

"We hope to be on site [in March], thanks to additional funding that was made available at the end of this year, that means the project is in a much better position of proceeding," he said.

There are 2,200 families waiting for a social home in Mid Ulster and 600 families in Dungannon.

Construction is expected to take up to two years with homes being allocated in 2027.

The picture "looked extremely gloomy" at the beginning of this year, he said.

"Initially we were advised there would be 450 homes, a fraction of what there would be on a usual basis.

"Towards the end of this year, we are looking at approximately 1,400 new homes."

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has published a Housing Supply Strategy with a target of building 33,000 new social homes over the next 14 years.

Mr McShane said it is "frustrating" to still be "falling short" of what is needed.

"The waiting list is increasing by 3,000 families a year so it's vitally important that we do more," he said, adding delivery is "dependent on finance".

"To deliver 2,500 social homes per year will require a government pot of money of approximately £250m per year."

However, he is "a bit more hopeful" as housing has been recognised as a "major issue" and elevated to having its own outcome in the Programme for Government.

"It's important that ambition is backed up by finances and forward planning in terms of budgets."

Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations chief executive Seamus Leheny said, despite additional funding, "it's still a very challenging year".

"We will do well to deliver between 1,300-1,400 new social homes this year. Going forward, we need to get that money up front at the start of the financial year," he said.

Housing supply targets are realistic, "but only if we start building at volume today", he added.

Mr Leheny said he would "like to see" 3,000 new homes a year, but "we've got to be realistic" about the "squeezed budget", land availability, issues surrounding NI Water and planning processes.

"We've got to work within the confines of those things that are holding us back," he added.