March 2015

Aine, a Housing Executive tenant, contacted Housing Rights Service when she received a letter which stated that she was being pursued for a housing benefit overpayment of £19,000.

The letter said that the Housing Executive believed, based on evidence it had received from the Social Security Agency, that Aine was living with a partner but had not declared this.  

Supreme Court judges have criticised the benefit cap.  The Supreme Court found that the policy failed to comply with Article 3 (1) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  This article provides that “in all actions concerning children … the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration”. 

Deposit protection was introduced in Northern Ireland in 2013 with the stated intention of providing "assurances for tenants and protection for landlords helping to minimise long drawn out legal proceedings and disputes".

We've rounded up some of the reaction to last week's conference for those of you who were unable to make it. 

You can download speakers' presentations, notes from workshops and the launch of research into involving easy to ignore groups will be launched at the end of March. 

The Boiler Replacement Scheme, which was due to end on 31 March 2015, has received a fresh injection of funding, meaning it will now run until March 2016.   Since launching in 2012. the scheme has helped to replace boilers in 18,500 homes.  The scheme is available to homeowners who earn less than £40,000 annually and have an old, inefficient boiler.