Ark Housing
Ark Housing is a registered charity and Northern Ireland housing association founded in 1987, providing general needs housing, sheltered housing, and homeless family services to social housing tenants in partnership with NIHE and the Department for Communities.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersBelfast, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Ark Housing does
Ark Housing Association Northern Ireland Limited (trading as Ark Housing) is a registered charity and housing association founded in 1987 and headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It delivers social housing across three core service lines: General Needs housing for individuals and families on the Northern Ireland housing waiting list, Sheltered Housing for vulnerable residents, and Homeless Family Centres supported by a Floating Support service that operates in partnership with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) and is funded by the Department for Communities through the Supporting People Programme.
The operational stack consists of standard housing association property management systems and a self-service tenant portal branded "My Home," which handles rent statements, repairs reporting, and tenancy management. Payments are processed via a third-party integration with AllPay, and the public website embeds ReadSpeaker text-to-speech for accessibility. Core products include Housing Applications, Repairs and Maintenance (with defined response times of 24 hours for emergencies, 4 working days for urgent, and 20 working days for routine), and a Homeless Services suite encompassing referrals and floating support.
Commercially, Ark Housing is a non-profit entity under regulatory charity and FCA frameworks. Revenue mechanics centre on recurring weekly rent and service charges (covering grass cutting, communal cleaning, heating, lighting, fire safety, and Legionella testing), with supplementary grant funding from the Supporting People Programme. Distribution runs through direct housing applications, agency referrals from Health and Social Care Trusts and NIHE, and the tenant portal — not commercial channels. Strategic positioning emphasises community investment, evidenced by participation with four peer associations in 53 shared housing developments across the Housing for All Shared Housing Programme and ongoing co-commissioned research launched at Stormont in 2026.
Ark Housing firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ark Housing
- Legal name
- Ark Housing Association Northern Ireland Limited
- Website
- https://arkhousing.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Ark Housing is a registered charity and Northern Ireland housing association founded in 1987, providing general needs housing, sheltered housing, and homeless family services to social housing tenants in partnership with NIHE and the Department for Communities.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ark Housing industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Housing
- NAICS
- Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings (53111), Other Community Housing Services (624229), Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly (62331)
- SIC
- Operators Of Apartment Buildings (6513), Services-Social Services (8300), Real Estate Operators (No Developers) & Lessors (6510)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Affordable/Subsidized Independent Living (HUD/LIHTC) Communities (HLADAAAB)
Keywords
Where Ark Housing is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Belfast
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ark Housing business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Rental Income: Ark Housing generates primary revenue through tenant rents for housing properties including General Needs, Sheltered Housing, and Homeless Family Centres. Rent is charged weekly to tenant accounts.
- Service Charges: Additional charges collected from tenants for services including grass cutting, communal area cleaning, heating, lighting, fire safety, and Legionella testing.
- Supporting People Programme Funding: Homeless Family Service developed in partnership with Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) and funded by Department for Communities (DfC) through the Supporting People Programme.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Weekly | Rental housing with rates and service charges |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Ark Housing product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ark Housing is a Northern Ireland housing association providing social housing to tenants across General Needs, Sheltered Housing, and Homeless Family Centres. Tenancy is managed through the My Home tenant portal, with structured repairs/maintenance services, multiple rent payment methods, and floating support for homeless families provided in partnership with NIHE and funded by the Department for Communities.
Product overview
Ark Housing is a housing association offering a unified set of housing services in Northern Ireland. The core offering includes general needs housing, sheltered housing, and homeless family centres. Supporting services include a tenant portal (My Home) for self-service access to repairs reporting, rent payments, and tenancy management; repairs and maintenance with defined response times; multiple rent payment methods including online integration with AllPay; and homeless services including floating support. The company does not operate a modular software platform but rather provides integrated housing management services through its website portal.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Housing Services Core offering of General Needs housing, Sheltered Housing, and Homeless Family Centres delivered as social tenancies to individuals and families in Northern Ireland.
- My Home Tenant Portal Online portal for existing tenants providing access to personal tenancy information, repairs reporting, rent statements, and tenancy management self-service.
- Repairs and Maintenance Repairs service with defined response-time SLAs: 24 hours for emergency, 4 working days for urgent, and 20 working days for routine repairs, available to all Ark Housing tenants.
- Rent Payment Services Rent collection service with multiple payment methods including online (via AllPay), Post Office, PayPoint, Direct Debit, Housing Benefit, and Universal Credit, billed weekly.
- Homeless Services Service package including floating support, referrals, and accommodation-based services for homeless families, funded by the Department for Communities through the Supporting People Programme.
- Floating Support Support service for homeless families covering needs assessments, risk assessments, support plans, and case management, delivered in partnership with NIHE and funded by the Department for Communities.
- Housing Applications Application service allowing prospective tenants to apply for social housing allocation with Ark Housing Association in Northern Ireland.
Quantifiable outcome
- 53 shared housing developments across Northern Ireland
Companies that use Ark Housing
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Ark Housing technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Ark Housing partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.
- Queen's University BelfastsecondaryLead researcher Dr Brendan Sturgeon from Queen's University Belfast led the research team for the 'Creating Sustainable Communities' report on social housing in Northern Ireland, commissioned by five housing associations.
- WovensecondaryArk Housing and Woven launched two new shared housing developments in South Belfast, representing a development partnership for delivering shared housing projects.
- Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE)corePrimary government partner for housing services. NIHE funds and partners with Ark Housing on homeless services and the Housing for All Shared Housing Programme, which has 53 shared housing developments across Northern Ireland.
- Apex, Choice, Clanmil, Radius Housing AssociationscoreFive housing associations jointly commissioning research on sustainable communities. Together they have 53 shared housing developments across Northern Ireland under the Housing for All Shared Housing Programme, working towards building more integrated communities.
- Health and Social Care TrustssecondaryArk Housing works with Health and Social Care Trusts along with NIHE and Department for Communities to provide aids and adaptations for tenants with sensory impairments or disabilities.
- Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)secondaryArk Housing collaborates with PSNI when addressing anti-social behaviour cases that may involve criminal activity, as part of their approach to creating safer communities.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Ark Housing competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Clanmil Housing: Clanmil Housing is a Northern Ireland housing association and a co-participant with Ark in the Housing for All Shared Housing Programme. Clanmil offers general needs and supported housing to similar tenant populations using the same NIHE and Department for Communities funding routes.
- Radius Housing: Radius Housing is one of the largest housing associations in Northern Ireland and a direct peer and co-participant with Ark in the Housing for All Shared Housing Programme. Radius operates similar general needs, sheltered, and supported housing schemes serving comparable tenant cohorts.
- Choice Housing: Choice Housing is a Northern Ireland housing association that jointly participates in the Housing for All Shared Housing Programme with Ark and three other associations. Choice operates similar general needs, sheltered, and shared housing services under comparable FCA and charity registration structures.
- Apex Housing Association: Apex Housing Association is one of the largest housing associations in Northern Ireland and a direct co-partner with Ark in the Housing for All Shared Housing Programme covering 53 developments. Both operate general needs, sheltered, and supported housing across NI under the same regulatory and funding framework.
- Habinteg Housing Association: Habinteg Housing Association is an England- and Ireland-based specialist housing association focused on accessible and inclusive housing for disabled and older tenants. Like Ark, it operates as a charity under FCA registration and provides supported housing alongside general needs tenancies.
Broad incumbents
- Clarion Housing Group: Clarion Housing Group is the UK's largest housing association, operating general needs and supported housing across multiple regions. It is comparable to Ark in operating as a charity-registered housing provider but operates at vastly greater scale with a much larger development programme.
- Notting Hill Genesis: Notting Hill Genesis is a major London-based housing association providing general needs, supported, and shared ownership housing. It shares Ark's charitable structure and FCA-style regulation but operates at far greater scale and with a more diverse income base.
- Home Group: Home Group is one of the UK's largest housing associations, providing general needs, supported, and social housing across England, Scotland, and Wales. It is comparable to Ark in operating model (charitable housing association providing general needs plus support services) but at materially greater scale and geographic breadth.
- Sanctuary Housing: Sanctuary Housing is a major UK-wide housing association providing general needs, supported, and sheltered housing. Comparable to Ark in service mix and non-profit structure, but operates at substantially larger scale with broader geographic footprint and a more developed development pipeline.
Others
- Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE): NIHE is Northern Ireland's largest social housing landlord and the primary government partner for housing associations including Ark. While not a direct competitor (it is a public body), NIHE sets policy, allocates funding, and manages the housing waiting list, making it the central ecosystem participant for Ark's operating model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ark Housing social profiles
Digital presenceArk Housing compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Ark Housing financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ark Housing leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Ark Housing funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ark Housing M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ark Housing
What does Ark Housing do?
Ark Housing is a Northern Ireland housing association providing social housing to tenants across General Needs, Sheltered Housing, and Homeless Family Centres. Tenancy is managed through the My Home tenant portal, with structured repairs/maintenance services, multiple rent payment methods, and floating support for homeless families provided in partnership with NIHE and funded by the Department for Communities.
Is Ark Housing a public or private company?
Ark Housing is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Ark Housing founded?
Ark Housing was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Ark Housing based?
Ark Housing is headquartered in Belfast, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Ark Housing make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Rental Income is the primary driver. The others are service Charges and supporting People Programme Funding.
Who are Ark Housing's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Clanmil Housing, Radius Housing, Choice Housing, Apex Housing Association and Habinteg Housing Association. Broad incumbents are Clarion Housing Group, Notting Hill Genesis, Home Group and Sanctuary Housing. Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) is listed as an others.
Does Ark Housing have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ark Housing.
What industry is Ark Housing in?
Ark Housing's product category is Social Housing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAEAB, Housing Assistance & Homeless Services, with a secondary code of HLADAAAB, Affordable/Subsidized Independent Living (HUD/LIHTC) Communities. Its NAICS code is 53111 and its SIC code is 6513.