HOUSING associations, which manage 55,800 homes in Northern Ireland, have made a series of commitments to help tenants meet the challenges of rising costs.
The Northern Ireland Federation of Housings Associations (NIFHA) has announced that its members are planning to go further this winter, when the cost of living crisis will have the most impact on vulnerable people.
Members are planning to be pro-active in supporting tenants who are in financial hardship and ensuring tenants know how to seek help.
The commitments include seeking to identify and support those who are experiencing difficulty in paying their rent to ensure that tenancies continue, providing access to income and benefit entitlement advice, and communicating support available to tenants and encouraging them to actively engage with their landlord if problems arise.
Patrick Thompson, Interim Chief Executive of NIFHA, said "As we face this cost of living crisis, nobody is able to avoid the impact of rising prices and social housing providers know that additional support and assurance is essential for their tenants.
"The sector is responding with positive and often innovative ways to help tenants meet the challenges of rising costs," he said.
"Recently we’ve seen some associations going door to door to understand tenants needs, provide energy saving advice, and even offering cookery lessons to help tenants save money. The commitments being made today to identify and support tenants who are struggling with their rent, or are experiencing arrears is of paramount importance.
"The aim is to make sure that all tenants know that they can come to their social housing landlord to talk about the financial challenges they face, and that action will be taken to support them."
