HOMELESSNESS cost the public purse around £300 million in the period 2012-2017, according to a new report.
Figures released today by the Northern Ireland Audit Office also reveal that almost 12,000 households in the north registered as "statutory homeless" in the past year.
The report concluded that a review of social housing allocation in Northern Ireland is "long overdue".
The report by Kieran Donnelly, head of the audit office, said it was "widely accepted" that the housing selection scheme in place here "could be open to abuse".
Mr Donnelly's report examined the scale and nature of homelessness and the strategies and measures in place to address the issue.
It found that the number of households designated as "statutory homeless" - which includes people living with friends or relatives, in temporary accommodation or in properties that are unsuitable for their needs - has increased by 32 per cent over the past five years.
Figures also show the north has the highest rate of people made homeless in the UK.
Mr Donnelly said changes are needed to the social housing allocation policy in the north.
Mr Donnelly added: "NI Housing Executive needs to be more innovative in its collection, analysis and interpretation of homelessness data.
"This includes research to determine why the level of statutory homeless acceptances are higher in Northern Ireland and regularly monitoring and measuring the extent of rough sleeping across Northern Ireland."
