Department for Communities Temporary Accommodation Announcement

This morning, the Minister for Communities announced that he had approved a proposal from the Housing Executive to enable the purchase of up to 600 properties from the general housing market, over the next three years, for use as temporary accommodation.

Our Response

Responding to the announcement, Nicola McCrudden, CEO of Homeless Connect, the representative body for the homelessness sector in NI, said:

“We welcome the announcement today from the Department for Communities that the Housing Executive will be allowed to purchase properties for use as temporary accommodation. This will allow for the reduction in the use of B&Bs and hotels, which is a highly expensive and unsuitable form of accommodation for people experiencing homelessness. B&B and hotel accommodation should only be used as the final option in emergency situations. We await further detail on how this will be implemented in practice, but we hope this step will help to relieve some of the pressure on a homelessness system which is under severe strain.”