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Housing advice charity in Northern Ireland warns of spike in homelessness
The cost of living crisis is putting many households in Northern Ireland at risk of homelessness, according to housing advice charity Housing Rights.
A drastic increase in food and fuel costs, mortgage interest rates and rents have all meant that many people across the country are struggling to pay their bills.
The charity explained it is seeing a spike in requests from both homeowners and renters who are due in court for repossession hearings.
This is reflected in the latest court statistics which showed a 76% quarterly increase in mortgage possession actions.
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Aisling Cunningham, advice services manager at Housing Rights, said: “People have been hit with continuous rises in monthly mortgage payments and increased rents on top of increases in food and fuel prices, and are either nearing crisis point or are already there.
“Wages are not always keeping up with inflation, and we are hearing from people daily who are struggling or simply can’t afford to pay for their homes.
“Not only are we hearing from those who were already in a vulnerable position, but people whose homes were once affordable to them are now in need of our help and are desperately worried about keeping a roof over their heads.”
A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) said: “We recognise challenges associated with the cost of living and the impact this has on households which are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
“Our Homelessness Strategy 2022-27 recognises the importance of homelessness prevention, and we encourage any household which may be threatened with homelessness as a result of the cost of living crisis to seek advice and assistance at the earliest possible opportunity from organisations such as the Housing Executive and Housing Rights.”
The NIHE also pointed to 42 actions it is taking, highlighted on its website, on homelessness prevention and helping households access necessary support as part of this strategy.
This new warning comes after a body representing Northern Ireland’s homelessness sector voiced concern last year that the political stalemate was having “very real consequences” for dealing with issues such as homelessness.
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