At the end of year 2019, there were 3,829 households on the housing waiting list in West Belfast – 83% of them in the predominately Catholic areas of Inner, Middle and Outer West Belfast, according to NIHE statistics obtained by Freedom of Information request.

87% of the 3,062 West Belfast households in housing stress were also in these predominately Catholic areas, as were 89% of the 2,515 households with Full Duty Applicant (FDA) status:

A closer look will show the proportion of West Belfast households in housing stress that reside in predominately Catholic areas:

The figures for North Belfast tell an even starker story.

While the 2011 census figures indicate that a majority of the population in the West Belfast Assembly Area were from a Catholic community background (80%), North Belfast has roughly an equal number of the two main communities (49% Protestant, 47% Catholic).

However, at end of year 2019 there were 2,586 households on the waiting list in North Belfast – three quarters of them in the predominately Catholic North Belfast 1 Housing Need Assessment (HNA) area. With regard to housing stress, 79% of North Belfast households experiencing it live in the North Belfast 1 HNA area, as do 82% of FDA homeless households.

For a closer look at housing stress in North Belfast, see the graph below.