THE Housing Executive has halted a procurement process for maintenance contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds after unsuccessful bidders launched a legal challenge.
The contracts were awarded in May last year, with the work scheduled to begin in April.
But the threat of litigation and associated costs has seen the Housing Executive abandon the process and "instead consider alternative approaches".
The installation of bathrooms and kitchens, as well as rewiring and the fitting of new doors and windows in hundreds of properties is now expected to be delayed.
“We were especially concerned that, if we became involved in a protracted legal process, there would be unnecessary delay to work to our tenants’ homes as well as a detrimental impact on releasing work to the local construction industry," a spokesman said.
Sinn Féin housing spokeswoman Carál Ní Chuilín said the collapse of the procurement process was "deeply worrying".
