Up to 600 homes could be bought for temporary housing

Dealing with the temporary accommodation demand cost the NIHE almost £39m in 2023-24

Up to 600 homes could be purchased by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) over the next three years to be used as temporary accommodation.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons approved the initiative, which aims reduce the cost of providing temporary accommodation by up to £75m over the next seven years.

Temporary accommodation is short-term housing provided to those who are homeless and in priority need.

Dealing with the demand for temporary accommodation cost the NIHE almost £39m in 2023-24, according to recent figures.

Lyons, of the Democratic Unionist Party, said it was "clear that the status quo cannot continue, and we must act".

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said it is "clear that the status quo cannot continue"

Hotels and B&Bs

Temporary accommodation can involve placing people in hotels and B&Bs, which are referred to as "non-standard accommodation".

The numbers affected have grown significantly in recent years, to the point where, on a given night, up to 450 households could be in non-standard accommodation.

A report issued on Tuesday by the NI Audit Office stated that the NIHE spent more than £12m on hotels and B&Bs, compared with about £7.5m in 2022-23 and £0.9m in 2018-19.

"We live in times of unprecedented housing stress," Lyons said.

"That means looking at new ways of doing things as we seek to tackle the challenges we face."

He said the plan to allow the NIHE to purchase up to 600 homes would "reduce reliance on costly hotel and B&B accommodation".

"It will allow the NIHE to invest in prevention activity - supporting families experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness," Lyons said.

An NI Audit Office report says the costs of tackling homelessness have soared

Homes needed

As part of the Housing Supply Strategy, the Department for Communities said 100,000 new homes needed to be built by 2039 and one third - about 33,000 - of those needed to be social homes.

NIHE chief executive Grainia Long said the organisation was committed to reducing the cost and use of B&B accommodation.

"We recommended this proposal to purchase properties for use as temporary accommodation, and I am delighted that minister Lyons has agreed," she said.

"This will allow us to expand the use of cost-effective, own front door temporary accommodation.

"It will reduce costs, and allow more households to access higher quality accommodation better suited to their needs."