Housing Rights’ annual Private Rented Sector Conference was held on Wednesday 20th November in the Skainos Centre. The PRS 2019 conference, which was sponsored by TDS NI, focused on raising standards in the private rented sector and the day was grouped into three sections:
New research launched today by advice charity Housing Rights shows that renting privately in Northern Ireland is becoming increasingly unaffordable for people who rely on housing benefit to pay their rent. Almost 9 out of 10 of rental properties are out of reach for people receiving Housing Benefit with the research showing that as little as 12% of properties in the sector would have their rent fully covered by the amount of benefit available.
New alternatives to traditional tenancy deposits are starting to raise eyebrows in Northern Ireland. These schemes seem attractive at first and appear to offer a more affordable route into renting privately. But, there are drawbacks, so it is important that anyone who is considering using a zero deposit scheme to rent privately gets advice on this option.
Many of the problems which arise during a private tenancy are caused by a lack of awareness from both tenants and landlords about their respective rights and responsibilities. In a bid to make it easier to find information to help resolve common problems, we've developed a new online resource www.SmartRenter.org
Housing Rights and the Chartered Institute of Housing are partnering to hold a joint conference looking at how to most effectively deliver affordable housing in Northern Ireland.
