Sir John Semple’s report ‘Review into Affordable Housing’ also called for the planning system to be made more like the English equivalent, with greater emphasis placed on returning empty homes to the market.
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Terry Coates, chair of the CIH Northern Ireland, said: “This report is a vital piece of work that examines the range of measures available to government to influence the affordability of housing. It clearly outlines the issues and challenges facing Northern Ireland and makes feasible recommendations to help deal with the issues.”
The report believed ending Stamp Duty on homes brought through the Co-ownership Scheme would help to alleviate some of the stresses on first-time buyers.
Other recommendations in the report included the increased use of greenfield and idle industrial land for housing, the fast-tracking of large development applications and the delegation of greater powers to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
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Alan Bridle, head of research at Bank of Ireland, commented: “Broadly speaking, we believe the review team have come up with a number of practical proposals, which directionally should help ease some of the affordability constraints in the longer term. In particular, the proposed changes to the planning system in Northern Ireland are long overdue. If there is a slight criticism of the report, perhaps 80 recommendations is too many.
“The housing challenge for the incoming Stormont executive will be to implement many of Sir John’s proposals but without triggering a hard landing in the market which would shake consumer confidence and put at risk Northern Ireland’s new-found feelgood factor.”
