Social Housing
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive was established by the Housing Executive Act (NI) Act 1971. Its creation followed civil disturbances arising from protests against the previous system of public housing allocation. Prior to the legislation, the 88 local authorities had responsibility for housing. The system was criticized for refusing to adopt a point system to determine priorities and allocations and for alleged misuse of discretionary powers in housing allocation. Before 1971, the allocation of housing was the responsibility of the councils under the Northern Ireland Housing Trust.
Approximately 100,000 houses are owned and managed by the Housing Executive, with an additional 20,000 owned and managed by registered housing associations.
Public rental housing from the Housing Executive and registered housing associations is assessed under the housing selection scheme. This covers all public-sector housing applicants and existing tenants.
An applicant must be over 18 and ordinarily or habitually resident in Northern Ireland or be employed or seeking employment in Northern Ireland or have another substantial connection with Northern Ireland, such as family or educational reasons.
An applicant may be deemed homeless by the Executive if they meet the criteria outlined in the Housing NI Order, 1988.
Under the selection scheme, applicants are given points and placed on a waiting list. Persons with care needs are placed in a separate category. Points are based on various criteria, including:
- Persons in insecure tenure, such as temporary accommodation for more than six months
- Persons in poor housing conditions, such as shared accommodation, overcrowded accommodation, accommodation lacking amenities, or disrepair on urgent lists for extended periods
- Persons with health and social needs
- Persons who are homeless due to intimidation, whether sectarian, racial, or terrorist-related.
A common list is used by the Executive and participating social landlords for housing allocation. Generally, those with the highest points are offered accommodation as a priority. An offer of three reasonable alternatives for accommodation is made. What is considered reasonable depends on the applicant’s circumstances and the suitability of the housing and accommodation offered in terms of location and features.
The Housing Executive is obligated to assist those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. The person must be homeless in priority need and not intentionally homeless. If these criteria are met, the person becomes a full-duty applicant and must generally be provided with permanent accommodation.
A person is considered homeless if they satisfy one of the following:
- Actual homelessness, meaning no accommodation in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.
- Deemed homelessness, where there is no reasonable accommodation for the person to occupy due to overcrowding, threat of violence, or threat to health.
- Threatened with homelessness, where the person is likely to become homeless within 28 days from the date they are given notice to the Housing Executive due to termination of tenancy or repossession proceedings.
Persons in priority need fall into one of the following categories:
- Vulnerable due to old age, mental and physical condition, or other good reason
- Loss of home due to fire, flood, or disaster
- Fear of domestic violence
- Pregnant or having dependent children
- Sixteen to 21 years old and at risk of sexual or financial exploitation
A person must demonstrate that they have not contributed to the loss of their last-settled home by deliberate act or failure to act when the premises would have been available and continued occupation would be reasonable. A person may be deemed intentionally homeless if this is established by virtue of collusion.
The duties of the Housing Executive depend on the applicant’s circumstances and the complexity of the above criteria. If the person is homeless and in priority need, the Executive has a statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation while it further examines the circumstances.
If it finds that a person is unintentionally homeless and in priority need, passing the above tests, they will be deemed a full-duty applicant. This will lead to an award of 70 points under the housing selection scheme. A person may also be entitled to points on other bases. When permanent housing is not immediately available, the Housing Executive must provide suitable temporary accommodation pending permanent rehousing.
If the person is found intentionally homeless and in priority need, temporary accommodation must be provided for a period to allow them an opportunity to find alternative housing, generally 28 days or pending an appeal. The Housing Executive will also provide advice and assistance in housing options.
If a person is found homeless but not in priority need, the Executive is obliged to provide the applicant with advice and assistance on accommodation. For persons found not homeless or not threatened with homelessness, there is no formal obligation, but the Executive will, in practice, provide advice.
The Executive provides the applicant with written notice of its decision, along with the reasons. An appeal may be lodged internally under an internal appeals procedure. This appeal is made in the first instance to the area manager, who will generally issue a decision within 15 days. The applicant may appeal further to the director of housing. Decisions could also, in theory, be further challenged on the grounds of judicial review.