£120k to bring Housing Executive homes in Derry, Strabane and Limavady back into fit state to live in

Some social homes have been rendered uninhabitable by fire or vandalism, while others may be undergoing conversions to make them fit to let.

The Housing Executive is spending over £120,000 trying to restore properties in the North West back to a habitable state.

Five properties across Derry, Strabane and Limavady are among 18 across the North that are not currently habitable, the Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey confirmed.

She said “uninhabitable properties” are defined as those that “cannot be occupied as a result of: fire; vandalism; where conversion work is ongoing to facilitate letting”.

Providing a breakdown of uninhabitable properties and the cost of repair by parliamentary constituency she said there were two in Derry and that it would cost the Housing Executive £60,000 to make them both fit for occupancy.

There were a further two in East Derry and making these fit to live in would cost £30,000 in total.

And in West Tyrone the cost of making one such home occupiable was £30,000.

That’s five properties and a bill of £120,000 for the North West in total which makes up 23 per cent of the £517,000 repair bill for 18 properties across the public housing estate in the North.

Elsewhere, five properties in Belfast (four in East Belfast and one in South Belfast) will cost £150,000 to repair; three properties in South Antrim will cost £120,000 to repair; three properties in Mid Ulster will cost £67,000 to repair; and one property in both South Down and North Down will each cost £30,000 to repair.

The Minister said: “No properties are beyond a habitable state of repair.”