Homelessness

When David came to Housing Rights Service he had been sleeping on his sister’s sofa for a few years and was finding it hard to cope. David is single and has a 5 year old daughter who spends weekends with him. He had presented as homeless to NIHE but was found not to have Priority Need.

The latest Northern Ireland Housing Bulletin has just been published by DSD for the period April to June 2013. The Bulletin is produced each quarter by the Department and contains information on new housing starts and completions, homelessness, the Residential Property Price Index and new house sales and prices.

The need for a fresh look at helping the homeless

On 10th October 2013 people around the world will mark World Homeless Day. On this auspicious day Housing Rights Service is keen to draw attention to the needs of local homeless people and promote discussion on how policy makers can effectively end the scourge of homelessness.

A long awaited strategy to tackle the problem of empty properties has just been launched by the Department for Social Development (DSD). The Empty Homes Strategy and Action Plan 2013-2018 aims to bring the estimated 32,000 empty homes across NI into use.
Speaking about the new strategy, the DSD Minister, Nelson McCausland said: