The Housing Bulletin

On the 29th of May, the Department for Communities released the latest edition of its Housing Bulletin for January to March 2025. The statistics show that the number of households with homelessness status in Northern Ireland continues to increase. On March 31, there were 49,083 households on the social housing waiting list with 31,719 of those households having homelessness status.

Over the last decade, the number of households on the social housing waiting list has increased by 25% from 39,338 in March 2015 to 49,083 in March 2025. Over the same period, the number of households with homelessness status has grown from 13,644 households to 31,719. This is an increase of 132% over the last decade.

In March 2024, 29,394 households had homelessness status. The number of households with this status has increased by 2,325 households, an increase of 8%, over the last year. In each of the last ten years, the number of households with homelessness status has consistently increased year on year.

Belfast City Council has the highest number of households with homelessness status at 9,975. Over the last decade, the number of households in Belfast with homelessness status has more than doubled from 4,557 households in March 2015 (an increase of 119%). This is followed by Derry and Strabane Council area with 4,437 households having homelessness status (a 121% increase) over the last decade) and then Newry, Mourne and Down with 2,803 households (up 112% over the last decade).

Ten of Northern Ireland’s eleven councils recorded an increase in the number of households with homelessness status compared to 31 March 2024.

Commenting on these figures Nicola McCrudden, Chief Executive of Homeless Connect said:

“These figures see the number of households with homelessness status hit another record high. Across every council area, too many families and individuals are finding themselves locked out of access to social and genuinely affordable housing. People have no other option but to enter the homelessness system with all the consequences this can have for them and their families.

There is widespread agreement across the political spectrum that we need to build more social housing. We warmly welcomed the inclusion of a specific target of 5,850 social housing new starts by the end of this Assembly mandate in the Programme for Government. We had hoped the Programme for Government commitment would unlock the funding needed to deliver on the social homes needed, but frankly this budget shortchanges housing.

The Department for Communities has confirmed that the initial budget allocation for 2025/6 will only allow them to build up to 1,000 social housing new starts this year. This is far short of the over 2,000 new starts needed this year to meet the target.

It is a simple fact that we need a sufficient supply of housing to prevent homelessness. Without these social homes, this trend will only continue to worsen with the social, economic and relational consequences this has for those impacted.

We urge the Executive to use every lever available to them to find the resources needed to deliver on the social housing we need to see. Budgets passed by the Executive and the Assembly must align with the priorities set out in the Programme for Government. Without the funding needed, these priorities will be unattainable, another castle in the sky for Government here.

This budget allocation also brings major challenges for the homelessness sector which plays a crucial role in preventing people falling into homelessness and supporting people experiencing it. The UK Government budget changes introduced regarding Employers National Insurance Contributions and an increase in the National Living Wage have substantially increased costs for homelessness service providers here. It is vitally important that existing homelessness service providers receive sufficient funding to keep services running.

My main concern is that any loss of capacity will weaken the sector and its ability to support some of the mast marginalised people living here. We will be asking Minister Lyons to do everything he can to ensure that the increased costs arising from the budget changes are mitigated when he comes to make his final budgetary decisions.”

-Ends-

1. You can read the Department for Communities Housing Bulletin for January to March 2025 here.

2. You can read the historical housing list in this deposited paper at the Assembly provided by the Minister for Communities in response to a question from Ciara Ferguson MLA.

3. You can find the Department for Communities Budget Allocations EQIA for 2025/6 here. See p17 for the social housing new builds figures.