The Housing Executive has awarded new contracts worth a total of £252 million in the last six months.
More than 9000 homes are set to benefit from bathroom replacements, while kitchens will be replaced in more than 5000 properties. Over 6500 new windows will be fitted, while 8000 new doors are set to be installed in Housing Executive homes.
Six different areas of Northern Ireland will also benefit from new maintenance contracts.
Housing Executive Chief Executive, Grainia Long said: “We are delighted to announce these new contracts as a real opportunity to provide tenants with a high quality repairs service and a planned programme of improvements.
“It will see a substantial investment in the local economy and provides long-term assurances of job security and training opportunities for multiple local contractors.
“This significant investment programme is very welcome news for our tenants and the local construction industry and shows our commitment to investing in our homes.”
She added that the Housing Executive is committed to “providing the highest quality services and high standards of improvements”.
Continued Grainia: “Given the scale of our business, the Housing Executive has a direct role in generating local economic outcomes, sustaining jobs and supply chains.
“Our annual investment of just over £205m in improving and maintaining our own homes in 2022/23 was the highest achieved since 2015.
“This brings the total Housing Executive spend in our homes to £907m in the last five years – it’s a testament to the hard work and commitment of our staff, working in close partnership with the industry.
“The operating environment, over the last three years, has been challenging in terms of price volatility, labour and material availability, particularly in the construction market.
“These market volatility issues were initially caused as a result of the pandemic and have been compounded by the recent geopolitical situation and impact of the global economy.”
She added: “Local contractors have faced unprecedented cost increases and labour shortages.
“As a consequence a number of our maintenance services and programmes were disrupted and, last November, we allowed a number of contractors to be released from their contractual obligations with the aim of stabilising workforces and protecting jobs.
“These new contracts will facilitate the delivery of quality services and standards for our tenants which demonstrate value for money and are sustainable for contractors.
”Our key focus is to ensure that, going forward, we have contracts in place to deliver on our ambitious plans to maintain and improve our homes.
“The scale of the economic impact of the housing sector cannot be overstated.
“It represents a significant investment in the construction industry and economy and our local communities will also benefit from social value clauses we’ve included, which means improvements for local communities alongside improvements to their homes.”
