Why housing should be transferred back to Northern Ireland's councils

The future of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) is hanging in the balance as the Northern Ireland Assembly considers breaking it up into five housing quangos while placing it under supervision. The drastic move follows a report by the Northern Ireland Audit Office, which found irregularities on its housing repairs contracts worth up to £170m. The chair of the executive resigned and its chief executive claimed the homes it manages needed £1bn spent on them. Created in 1972 by the British government, the NIHE was part of the push to tackle sectarianism and gerrymandering in Northern Ireland. Housing had been a major civil rights issue, with claims that investment and allocations were directed primarily on behalf of the Protestant majority. The NIHE took on 146,000 dwellings and around 2,220 staff. Its record since has been positive, benefiting from decades of capital investment allowing it to improve stock and build modern homes while local authority counterparts in England where unable to develop. While it has to work within the prevailing sectarian geo-political boundaries – estates are primarily Protestant or Catholic, hemmed in by 90 "peace walls" that serve to reinforce community differences – it has been recognised for trying to offer a reasonable housing service. Now, though, it must face the familiar demands of unmet need, insufficient resources and the belief that by becoming something else it will be able to access private sector finance to resolve such matters. Finance can provide the bricks and mortar, but does not in itself build communities. If ministers do indeed decide the creation of five housing association, as is their preferred option, they must ask some serious questions about governance. Will the appointment of non-accountable board members – making significant decisions within the prevailing sectarian geo-political landscape – instil confidence that impartial decisions are indeed being made? Are they satisfied that the geographical boundaries of these new housing associations does not further compound sectarian divisions? In 1968, the government's Cameron Report concluded that housing policy and practices had been distorted for political ends. The difference today is an enduring peace process, and the return of devolved government that includes the major protagonists exercising ministerial oversight. Given this context would this not be an opportunity to reinforce the democratic process by returning oversight of housing to the 11 new councils that are to be created from the current 26? Giving locally elected politicians power to set strategy and devise policies for their local boundaries would enable the housing service to become genuinely accountable for the first time since 1972. The difference between operational practices and strategy are well versed in the rest of the UK. There may well still be difficulties and tensions, but today's world is a far more transparent one with the basis of decision making on individual cases decided by officers determined by published codes of practice and eligibility criteria. Elected members would remain free to advocate on behalf of individuals or local community interest. This must add to a sense of identity and common purpose, a trust that housing services are being provided first and foremost in their interest and not in the narrower interest of unaccountable bodies. The ability of local politicians to engage in and be directly accountable for housing services would help plug Northern Ireland's democratic deficit. It would also add to the democratic leadership role provided by the Assembly, a genuine test of its own maturity. The familiar challenges within local government of deciding where, when and how much capital investments should take place could serve to promote confidence and citizen engagement. Transparency, accountability and public engagement must be more important than simply complementary ingredients, in a society that has endured many years of conflict ahead of taking the simple organisational step of establishing a few quangos. The counter-argument that local politicians cannot be trusted not to bring sectarian politics into decision making will be made by staff at the NIHE and those with professional ambitions to join the (not dissimilar) proposed new housing associations. But this argument suggests that the political institutions committed to equality of opportunity have already failed, and that local politicians cannot lead – not much of a future for Northern Ireland. It's time for trust and confidence to prevail in local leadership, not professional self-interest. If all this sounds too top down, a more radical and perhaps even more democratic option is to transfer the ownership and control of local housing estates to tenants. These bodies would, by definition, be very local indeed and couldn't be more accountable – an opportunity for the tenants of Northern Ireland to offer an example for the rest of Britain. An opportunity is here; what shape that opportunity takes will be down to the Assembly, but the history of housing in Northern Ireland deserves far more than current thinking appears to offer. Donald Graham is chief executive of Hertsmere borough council This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Join the housing network for comment, analysis and the latest job vacancies direct to you