Ark Housing

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.

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

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

• Social housing association
• General needs housing
• Sheltered housing
• Homeless family services
• Floating support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. Service Charges: Additional charges collected from tenants for services including grass cutting, communal area cleaning, heating, lighting, fire safety, and Legionella testing.
3. 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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core 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

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.

• Queen's University BelfastsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Lead 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.
• WovensecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Ark 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary 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 AssociationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFive 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 TrustssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerArk 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)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerArk 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

Direct 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ark-housingni

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ark Housing