Social Tenancies

ADVISER: Arguing for adequate disabled parking spaces

17 July 2017

Susan is a housing association tenant who came to us through NIACRO floating support. Susan lives in supported accommodation due to extensive disability needs.

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Social Tenancies, Practical tips, Adviser

ADVISER: Using Housing Benefit regulations to sustain a tenancy and prevent homelessness

22 May 2017

For many years, Housing Rights has provided housing advice to people entering and leaving custody in Northern Ireland’s three prisons. The housing advice in prisons project is funded by NIHE and the Northern Ireland Prison Service and is an essential way of preventing homelessness on release and sustaining tenancies for these vulnerable members of society.

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Benefits, Repossession, Social Tenancies, Homelessness, Adviser

ADVISER: Temporary absences, abandonment and housing costs

25 April 2017

Ursula Toner reviews a selection of recent cases, where Housing Rights successfully challenged decisions disadvantaging people who had to leave their homes temporarily. Anyone who is going to be temporarily absent from their home should inform their landlord of this absence, in order to best protect their tenancy rights.

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Social Tenancies, Practical tips, Adviser

Radius Housing Association launches

4 April 2017

Fold and Helm Housing Associations have recently merged under the new identity of Radius Housing.

Following an extensive consultation process involving employees and tenants from both Fold and Helm, Radius Housing Association will provide services for over 33,000 households and employ over 1,000 staff.

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Social Tenancies

Changes to Housing Benefit in wake of Supreme Court ruling

4 April 2017

New Regulations have been passed, coming into effect on 20^th April 2017, which expand the circumstances in which a household is permitted an “additional” room by Housing Benefit rules. These changes apply to both the social and private rented sectors.

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Benefits, Social Tenancies, Private Tenancies, Welfare Reform

A proportionate alternative to possession - Acceptable Behaviour Contracts.

31 March 2017

In recent years, the question of "proportionality" has increasingly been raised as a defence to possession proceedings. Sarah Corrigan, an adviser with extensive experience in defending possession action, discusses the merits of acceptable behaviour contracts as an alternative to possession action and an effective method of dealing with antisocial behaviour.

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Repossession, Social Tenancies

ADVISER: Finding housing solutions for people in custody

21 March 2017

An adviser based at Hydebank Wood College and Women’s Prison, discusses one of her recent cases, where she worked in partnership with the Beyond the Gate team at Housing Rights not just to secure a tenancy for a newly-released client, but also to ensure that the individual had the right support in place to cope independently in the community.

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Social Tenancies, Practical tips, Adviser

Bedroom tax in Northern Ireland

7 March 2017

Regulations allowing for the introduction of the “social sector size criteria” or the “bedroom tax” in Northern Ireland took effect on the 20 February. As we’ve previously reported, the impact of this change in Northern Ireland is largely mitigated, with the only threat of an actual financial detriment as a result of the change being to some social tenants who trans

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Benefits, Social Tenancies, Private Tenancies, Practical tips, Welfare Reform, Affordability

Housing Rights Consultation Response to Proposals to seek reversal of the reclassification of registered social housing providers in Northern Ireland

Consultation Response

February 2017

Housing Rights welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Department’s proposals to seek reversal of the ONS reclassification of registered social housing providers in Northern Ireland.