Housing Rights Service is committed to improving the situation for people who are homeless. We are working towards long term solutions to stop homelessness happening in the first place. Through our legal advice and policy work we aim to secure positive changes to policy, legislation and practice to protect homeless people and to prevent homelessness occurring.

What is homelessness?
What is being done to tackle homelessness?
What does Housing Rights Service want to see happen?
Key homelessness statistics

What is homelessness?

Homelessness means not having a home. You don't have to be living on the streets to be homeless. Even if someone has a roof over their head they can still be homeless. This may be because their home is unsuitable or they don't have any rights to stay there. People become homeless for a number of different reasons for example

• breakdown in sharing arrangements
• being evicted by a landlord
• job loss
• health problems
• relationship problems
• harassment by neighbours

What is being done to tackle homelessness?

The Department for Social Development is leading a group to take forward the Promoting Social Inclusion strategy called “Including the Homeless”. In addition the Housing Executive is now required to produce a homelessness strategy. The draft strategy has been consulted upon and is due to be finalised in the autumn 2011.

What does Housing Rights Service want to see happen?

Housing Rights Service wants to see the right to housing included in a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. We are also calling for full interagency co-operation in tackling and preventing homelessness with greater emphasis on providing quality housing advice to help people to remain in their homes.

Key homelessness statistics

• In 2009/10, 18,664 households presented as homeless to the NI Housing Executive. This is an increase of 3% on the previous year.
• 9,914 of the households met the legislative criteria and were awarded homelessness status. This is an increase of 11% on the previous year.
• Single households count for 36% of those accepted as homeless.
• The major reason given for homelessness is relationship breakdown.  This has changed from 2008/09, where the major reason was accommodation not reasonable.