Spending on temporary accommodation for people at risk of homelessness in Northern Ireland has soared in recent years, a new report has stated.
The Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI) report said the spending is not providing value for money or addressing the root causes of homelessness in the region.
The charity also said that the budget for homelessness funding in Northern Ireland has been cut by more than £5 million a year.
The report said the demand for temporary accommodation has been rising rapidly in recent years, with private rented sector rents rising significantly faster in Northern Ireland than in the other nations of the UK since 2015.
The report found that:
– Spending on temporary accommodation for people at risk of homelessness is not providing value for money or addressing the root causes of homelessness.
– There has been a tenfold increase in spending on “non-standard” accommodation such as hotels, from £700,000 in 2017-18 to £7.6 million in 2022-23.
– Whilst the Northern Ireland Housing Executive is implementing long-term measures to address homelessness issues, there are also short-term opportunities for improvement, especially in improving financial reporting and analysis and understanding the root causes of homelessness.
– The number of recorded homelessness preventions is very low.
The report said the Housing Executive’s spending on temporary accommodation has quadrupled in recent years, and is expected to rise further.
It recommends that the Housing Executive takes measures to improve and maximise its rent collection.
It said that due to its IT system, the Housing Executive does not reliably record information about rental payments by people in temporary accommodation despite being aware that a significant amount of rent due in non-standard accommodation is not being collected.
The report also recommends that the Housing Executive conducts thorough assessments of individuals experiencing homelessness as soon as they enter temporary accommodation.
Report author Matthew Wilkins, from the CHI, said: “The Housing Executive is experiencing an incredibly challenging time – with the number of people experiencing homelessness entering temporary accommodation increasing significantly as its funding has been reduced.
“The Housing Executive has identified the priorities it wishes to follow to tackle homelessness more effectively, including increasing its prevention work.
“This is logical, but even before this, and in the face of such considerable challenges, our work suggests that there are steps it could take to gain a stronger grip.
“Actions including seeking to more fully understand the reasons why people enter temporary accommodation, for example, could permit it to more effectively focus its resources on tackling homelessness.”
Chief executive for Northern Ireland Housing Executive Grainia Long said the findings and recommendations in the report would be considered.
She added: “Over the last number of years the challenges we have encountered in relation to homelessness have been unprecedented.
“During Covid demand increased at a huge rate and supply diminished due to pandemic restrictions.
“A reduction of properties in the private rental sector further exacerbated the situation.
“This resulted in a surge in demand for temporary accommodation with placements reaching more than 10,000 last year, for the first time.
“We will now use the findings of this report to shape our future efforts to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurrent.”
Dr Ligia Teixeira, CHI chief executive, said: “Substantial sums have been allocated to homelessness in recent years, sometimes in a short-term manner and in response to pressures.
“Given that the fiscal climate places heavy constraints on increasing the quantum of government spending on homelessness, there is an urgency to ask whether current resources are being spent in an optimal way.”
