Practical tips

Over the last few months there has been a noticeable increase in the number of hate crime attacks reported in the local media. These attacks are primarily targeted at the homes of people from minority ethnic groups.

Over the past few weeks, you may have noticed changes to our other website housingadviceNI.  This site, which had over 650,000 users in the last year and is funded by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, is a brilliant source of practical information on housing and homelessness in Northern Ireland.

Private tenancies in Northern Ireland are generally divided into two categories:

I recently met Teresa, a lone parent and Housing Executive tenant in rent arrears.  Teresa was at risk of possession and really needed help. 

Teresa was having difficulties paying her rent because she was under a lot of financial pressure and she had debts including a couple of payday loans which she’d taken out to tide her over at a time when she was finding things particularly tough.