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Leading housing advice charity, Housing Rights, has welcomed the extension of emergency measures which will ensure private renters continue to have enhanced protection against eviction during the period of COVID-19.
Housing Rights welcomes the development of this strategy and are pleased to contribute to the Call for Evidence. In our view the impact of this strategy could be more fully delivered if the title of the strategy was more representative of the strategy’s proposed objectives. “Housing Supply” is a technical term which is directly relevant to the first proposed objective. A broader title may more fully encompass the breadth of objectives in the strategy. Housing Rights notes the adoption in the easy read version of this document of the title “A plan for housing for people in NI” and would readily support the adoption of these sentiments in the main strategy title.
Four leading housing organisations, including Housing Rights, have approached the joint heads of government to discuss the housing crisis in Northern Ireland and relay sectoral concerns regarding the absence of a specific housing outcome in the draft Programme for Government.
In January 2021, the Department of Finance published their draft budget. The document sets out the Northern Ireland Executive’s proposed spending plans for the one year period from 1 April 2021 to March 2022.
This week the Housing (Amendment) Bill passed its final stage in the NI Assembly. In addition to other changes to the regulation of housing associations, the bill will end the compulsory house sales scheme for housing association tenants.
In February, Minister for Communities Deirdre Hargey answered various questions relating to the work of her Department, including plans in relation to welfare reform mitigation, temporary accommodation and housing supply. You can find the answers to many of these questions below.
The newly appointed Minister for Communities Deirdre Hargey will regularly respond to questions from fellow MLAs. Below are a number of questions which have already been answered and which relate to housing and affordability issues.
Departmental priorities
Question from Mr Andy Allen, UUP East Belfast
To ask the Minister for Communities to outline her Departmental priorities for (i) 2020/21; and (ii) 2021/22.
With Stormont back up and running, our Policy & Practice Manager, Kate McCauley has had a look at the key areas which Housing Rights hopes will be prioritised over the coming months by the new Minister and those MLAs appointed to Stormont’s Comm
