Our Policy and Participation teams recently took a day out of the office to focus on pinning down Housing Rights’ policy priorities ahead of the 2027 Assembly Election. The housing crisis continues to take hold in Northern Ireland, and it initially seemed an almost impossible task to distil down the changes needed to make a real difference to the people who use our services.
As we got to work, we recommitted to the core principles that underpin all of Housing Rights’ policy work:
- We put people’s lived experience at the centre of everything we do
- We are driven by up-to-date, reliable data and evidence
- We consider the needs of the most vulnerable
These principles remained central to our thinking as we navigated our way through the many issues affecting people at risk of homelessness, experiencing homelessness and those with housing problems.
As the saying goes, sometimes it's hard to see the wood for the trees. There is so much work to be done to improve housing problems and support people at risk of homelessness. The scale and complexity of these issues can make it difficult to identify which changes can bring real, tangible benefits. This is where it became clear to us that stripping back to the essentials is the best way to effect real change in the current environment.
We focused on developing Manifesto Asks that are:
- practical, direct and provide clear calls for action
- grounded in the lived realities of Experts by Experience
- backed by data and evidence
Tackling the housing crisis requires a dual approach. We must build enough social and affordable homes to meet current and future demand.
However, intervention is needed to slow the rate of homelessness. Homelessness is damaging, costly and often preventable. Earlier intervention produces better outcomes for individuals and reduces pressure on public services. In order to achieve this, Ireland requires legislative reform to our homelessness legislation that creates a statutory duty to prevent homelessness.
We are urging elected representatives to prioritise three key actions:
Prevent homelessness
Tackling the housing crisis requires a dual approach. We must build enough social and affordable homes to meet current and future demand.
However, intervention is needed to slow the rate of homelessness. Homelessness is damaging, costly and often preventable. Earlier intervention produces better outcomes for individuals and reduces pressure on public services. In order to achieve this, Northern Ireland requires legislative reform to its homelessness legislation that creates a statutory duty to prevent homelessness.
Provide the homes people need
As we know, this is central to alleviating the homeless crisis. Northern Ireland cannot end homelessness without increasing the supply of social and affordable housing. A home for everyone creates stability, security and the opportunity to thrive within our communities.
This must be achieved alongside a statutory duty to prevent homelessness, which will reduce demand for homes over time.
Strengthen renters' rights
The private rented sector now houses more people in Northern Ireland than social housing, but we sit well behind other jurisdictions in terms of private tenant’s rights.
A significant proportion of households that present as homeless to NIHE do so because they have lost private rented accommodation. Private renters are also disproportionately represented by those who contact Housing Rights for advice.
We can improve private tenant’s lives by:
ending no fault eviction
taking action to control rent inflation
updating repair standards
Kate McCauley — Chief Executive
