In the first of a new series our solicitor, Carmel Ferguson, gives an overview of some recent successful challenges that we have made against negative homelessness decisions.
Following the publication of the latest NI Housing Bulletin , Nicola McCrudden, Housing Rights Service Policy Manager, has digested the year end statistics and summarises her thoughts on the issue of supply and demand.
Our housing advisers speak to hundreds of people every week about housing in Northern Ireland. We’ve found that there are quite a few myths out there about housing in Northern Ireland and we’d like to dispel these. We’re starting with social housing and how properties are allocated.
Nicola McCrudden, Housing Rights Service Policy and Communications Manager, has been appointed as Chartered Institute of Housing Director in Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland. She will take up the post in early October.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was established by Parliament to help consumers who have a complaint about a financial service. The Ombudsman can help consumers with complaints about a range of issues:
Consumer website, Which? has published a map showing the most financially distressed areas in the UK.
Which? asked site users to rank how financially stressed they were on a five point sliding scale. The scale ran from low level financial stressors, like cutting back on essentials to signifiers of serious financial problems, such as defaulting on a loan, rent or mortgage.
The housing statistics from January 2014 to the end of March 2014 have just been published by the Department for Social Development.
Key facts from the report include:
• 4,740 households presented as homeless to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive between January and the end of March. This is an increase of 73 (2%) from the previous quarter.
A new report from Just Fair claims that the UK is breaching international law on the human rights of disabled people as a result of its welfare reform programme.
The Department for Social Development has just published its 2012-2013 NI Poverty Bulletin. This is the third annual poverty bulletin from their Analytical Services Unit in DSD to be published.
Key findings include:
• The average (median) household income in Northern Ireland was £395 per week before housing costs and £358 after housing costs.
In the first of a new series our solicitor, Carmel Ferguson, gives an overview of some recent successful challenges that we have made against negative homelessness decisions. 
Following the publication of the latest 