Debate contribution: Housing (Amendment) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Mark Durkan on 21 September 2026.

MLA

Mr Mark Durkan

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

21 September 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Housing (Amendment) Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5743216

Read the official Assembly record

Text

However long that it takes. The SDLP believes that the current "threatened with homelessness" window of 28 days is simply too narrow, and I do not think that anyone can or would dispute that, although they can oppose attempts to widen it, particularly when we consider that, under the Private Tenancies Act 2022, as we have heard, a tenant whose tenancy has lasted more than a year must receive at least eight weeks' or the 56 days' notice. Therefore, we have a situation where someone can receive notice telling them that they are going to lose their home but may still be unable to access the full range of Housing Executive support until they are much closer to the point of homelessness. Mr Brett, you said that you deal with a lot of housing and homelessness issues, and I know that levels of need in North Belfast are up there with those in my constituency, but temporary accommodation is a last — last — resort. People are not going into that when they get a notice to quit. They are having to wait and wait and wait. They do not even have the ability to get practical issues such as storage or schooling — wee things such as those — sorted out until the day that the guillotine falls on their tenancy. That is not a sensible or compassionate system. The Bill would bring the statutory definition into line with the reality faced by tenants. It would also give the Housing Executive more time to help tenants to address rent arrears, explore alternative accommodation options, provide financial advice and support people. In some cases, and this is what the Bill is meant to do, it will help to prevent homelessness. We know that prevention is better than crisis management both for people and for the public purse, and that is where the focus of the Minister and the Executive should be.

Nobody should have to lose their home before the system decides that they are worthy of help.

We cannot discuss homelessness and homelessness prevention without discussing the wider housing situation. We are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. People face increased costs for food, energy, transport and basic household necessities. At the same time, housing costs continue to rise. We have seen a 56·4% increase in average rents over the past decade, alongside house prices reaching a 17-year high. Wages have not kept pace. For those in the private rented sector, a rent increase can mean the difference between keeping a roof over their head and losing their home. For young people, the dream of owning a home is increasingly out of reach. For families on low incomes — not just those on low incomes — the private rented sector is becoming less secure and less affordable. For those who are already struggling, the smallest financial shock can push them into homelessness. I alluded earlier to the fact that little action has been taken to prevent that spiral. I appreciate the Minister's introduction of the intermediate rent scheme, which is welcome, but we need greater protections for those in the private rented sector, including — I have made the point in the Chamber a few times before — third-generation rent controls and a ban on no-fault evictions.

Of course, the most important long-term answer is housing supply. There is no route out of the crisis that does not involve building more homes and plenty of them. I think that it is unlikely, although the Minister may be more optimistic, that the Executive will achieve their ambition, set out in the housing supply strategy, to deliver more than 100,000 new homes over 15 years. Allocations are not keeping pace with demand. The cut — yes, Minister, I will describe it as "a cut" — to the housing association grant has, we hear from associations, hindered social housing builds. It is costing the sector more to build less. I know that you will analyse the figures when a year has passed since your decision, and we look forward to interrogating your analysis. We need to make better use of public land through the creation of a public land agency. Perhaps the Minister will update us on his efforts to get Departments to come up with what is required on that front. We need to bring the 22,000 vacant properties across the North back into use, and we need the Executive to bring forward a proper plan on waste water infrastructure. Frankly, I was astonished by the Minister's assertion the other week that water infrastructure continues not to be a hindrance to social housing builds. That is not consistent with what we hear from those who work in the sector. The weekend before last, I was involved in a panel discussion with the Federation of Housing Associations and others, and it was clear that water infrastructure remains one of the biggest impediments to housing development.

That is the funding for approved schemes. This is about the schemes that cannot or will not be approved because of water infrastructure issues. Extending the statutory window would mean that more people could access more support earlier, and that can only be a good thing. The Housing Executive must, however, be adequately and properly resourced to deliver that support. We cannot extend that duty without providing the staff and the funding necessary to make it meaningful.

The Bill must be accompanied by a wider homelessness prevention framework and a statutory prevention duty that see homelessness as the cross-cutting issue that it is, placing into legislation cooperation on housing across Communities, Health, Justice and other Departments. We need sustained funding for the community and voluntary sector, which does such fantastic work in the field of homelessness prevention, and we need our housing system to be genuinely preventative. Preventing homelessness is not just about responding earlier; it is also about ensuring that people are secure in their homes to begin with. I support the Bill.

998 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:40 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification