Northern Ireland Housing Trust (NIHT)

According to an abstract from Cain Abstracts, the NIHT was established in 1945 with a remit to build public sector housing 'for workers' in co-ordination with local authorities. The Trust was established to try to boast house building but ran into deliberate obstruction by a number of Unionist controlled local authorities. These authorities were worried about the impact of new housing, and thus new voters, in marginal constituencies. There is evidence that the NIHT favoured 'careful' tenants who were in employment a combination which left the Trust open to some accusations of discrimination against Catholics. The responsibilities of the NIHT were taken over by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in October 1971.