Ark Housing Association

In 1987, Down and Connor Housing Association was set up to provide social and affordable homes for those in housing need. In 1999, the organisation was renamed Ark Housing Association to reflect growing ambitions.

The Association is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, Department for Communities and the Charity Commission, Northern Ireland. We currently own and manage 450 houses, bungalows and apartments across Northern Ireland. At present, we operate primarily in Belfast and County Down but also have a presence in Belcoo, Portrush, Lisburn, Moira and Bangor.

We provide a wide range of specialist homes and services to meet the needs of families, older persons and single person households. Our supported accommodation comprises of residential care, sheltered housing, frail elderly and dementia care, self-contained apartments for those suffering mental ill health and temporary accommodation or floating support for homeless families. Our general needs type accommodation comprises of specially designed mobility and wheelchair bungalows and a range of house types for general needs families.

Our permanent housing allocations are made in accordance with the Common Selection Scheme for Northern Ireland which is administered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

Most of our services are managed directly by a team of dedicated and skilled professionals. However, we also operate several successful partnerships with specialist agencies and statutory bodies. Our strategic partners include Threshold, Inspire Wellbeing, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

We continue to be a developing Association and have ambitious plans for growth over the next five years which will enable us to have an even greater impact in the communities we serve. We combine private finance with capital funding grants received from the Department for Communities to assist us in the delivery of our Social Housing Development Programme. We are also revenue funded by the Department through the Supporting People Programme which enables us to provide bespoke housing support services to our tenants and residents.