NIHE to purchase 600 new homes in bid to help homelessness in Northern Ireland

600 new homes are to be purchased by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to help stem increasing costs related to a rise in the number of people requiring temporary accommodation. These costs was causing an unstable and unsustainable pressure and requirement to help the homeless services in Northern Ireland. There are upto 450 households living in hotels and B&Bs according to the NIHE, and the costs associated with housing families in these non-standard accommodation facilities is now over £12m (2023/24) compared to £668,425 in 2017/18.

The Northern Ireland housing minister, Gordon Lyons, said “When I launched the executive housing supply strategy, I said we had to be radical and innovative in our approach to housing.

“We live in times of unprecedented housing stress. That means looking at new ways of doing things as we seek to tackle the challenges we face.

“That is why I have approved a plan which will allow the housing executive to purchase up to 600 homes over the next three years to use as temporary accommodation.” By adding these 600 properties to their portfolio, the NIHE will be able to become more pro-active when dealing with families experiencing homelessness.

Grainia Long, the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, said: “The housing executive prioritises high-quality temporary accommodation, with the majority of the provision in Northern Ireland being single lets. We remain committed to reducing the cost and use of B&B accommodation, and that work continues at pace."