Debate contribution: Housing Crisis on the North Coast

Debate contribution by Ms Cara Hunter on 7 May 2024.

MLA

Ms Cara Hunter

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

7 May 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Housing Crisis on the North Coast

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4488498

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank all my constituency colleagues and the Minister, of course, for being here today. I submitted the topic for the Adjournment debate in good faith, Minister, to work with you and your Department, as well as alongside constituency and other party political representatives. Today, we have the chance to highlight the undeniable and unbelievable need for housing in the constituency of East Derry or East Londonderry — whatever you want to call it. Minister, in my past few years as an elected rep — it is coming up to five years now — housing has continued to be the number-one issue that I see. Whether it is young, vulnerable single men, looked-after children leaving care and looking for housing for the first time, people who live life with a physical or learning disability or mothers and fathers who have been left homeless with nowhere to go, it is creating significant pressure. I really welcome the chance to debate and talk about it further today. I will touch on the lived experience of one of my constituents. Years ago, I met a lovely lady in my constituency who uses a wheelchair due to a medical diagnosis. She could not gain access to a house that was fit for purpose, and it was taking years to get a suitable home for her. As a direct result, she has been living in a caravan in the East Derry constituency. That shows the level of pressure that exists and the solutions that people have been forced into in order to get a fit-for-purpose, disability access-approved home. That is just one of many stories. All of us across the House have heard over the past number of years about the pressures on our housing system. Over 46,000 people in the North are awaiting a home. I am genuinely worried for the health and well-being of my constituents who are experiencing the pressures that housing stress can bring. Having this conversation today is an opportunity to hear directly from you and your Department, Minister, and to talk a little bit more about strategies for housing and the solutions that are being proposed in order to adequately solve the ongoing housing crisis. Minister, I am aware that you have been in position for only a couple of months, but housing here is a historical problem. It has been underfunded for generations, arguably. I really welcome the fact that we are here today to talk about it further. We must immediately build and expand social housing in our communities and throughout East Derry. We have seen each and every day the unbelievable challenges of people being made homeless, with mere weeks to find a home, but they rarely do. That forces families to move into overcrowded houses, and they suffer immensely. Their mental health suffers as well due to housing pressures. Housing stress really does ruin lives. I spoke recently with children who are experiencing housing stress. They touched on the fact that they cannot bring friends over because they live in a family member's living room, as opposed to having their own bedroom and their own home. Those are just some of the lived experiences that I wanted to share today. The debate covers the constituency, including the north coast area, so we are talking about places like Portrush, Portstewart and the wider Coleraine area. We are continuing to see the loss of private rentals for families who desperately need them, and there really are no homes available. That has contributed, essentially, to a situation in which we have fewer houses available, the market is more competitive, the rent prices are going up and when houses are for sale, people cannot afford them. Young professionals, young families and people who have just got married or want to start a family are really struggling. Ultimately, I believe that the lack of available housing is eliminating a sense of community in those areas, but I will come to that further down the line. As I mentioned in previous speeches in the House, I have met estate agents over the past few months who said that they have never seen the situation as bad or as stark as it is now, with so few houses available in the north coast area. That is a really interesting point to raise today. When talking about housing and housing stress in East Derry and the wider north coast area, we need to address our unique position of struggling with housing and second-home ownership. Portrush is a very attractive place. I live there, I love it there and I grew up there, and I can see why people want to live there. When we talk about second-home ownership and, of course, the lucrative short-term lets, for example, Airbnbs, we see that they are really impacting on young families' ability to access a house there for the children to grow up in. It is important to raise that today. Whilst I in no way seek to demonise second-home ownership, I want to place it on your radar, Minister. There is a conversation to be had about perhaps moderating the number of houses that are being bought to be second homes. I will give an example. In the last Assembly election, I canvassed a street that I grew up in — it is a street of about 10 or 12 houses — and I thought, "This is great, I will knock on the door of the house that I grew up in." However, nobody lived there, because it was a second home. Eventually, I knocked on a door and a lady answered. I asked, "Is there a football match today? What is going on? Why is it so empty?". She said, "There are three families in the street, and the rest of the houses are second homes". I said, "This is such a transformation from when I was a child, about 20 years ago". The cultural and community changes in Portrush are interesting points to talk about. Other Members will have canvassed other areas, such as Portballintrae, where up to half of the properties are second homes. I welcome the fact that Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has researched this issue as part of local area planning, and I previously touched on the statistics for Portrush. Its figure for second homes is estimated at between 16% and 24%. The figure for Portstewart is between 15% and 23%. Minister, that is why I put this on your radar today. It is about the lack of sustainability of housing in the area. People feel hopeless. I have spoken with mothers and fathers who said, "I know that this will not go the way that I want. I will be waiting for up to five or 10 years". We talk a lot in the House about mental health, supporting families and early years. If we want to support families and, ultimately, give children the best go at life by supporting them in their early years, the best way for them to have a happy life is to have a happy and stable home. I welcome the opportunity to bring this matter to the House today. I know — I say this sincerely — that Members across the House genuinely care about the issue and work hard within their parties and with councillors and other reps to house constituents. For me, it is not a party political issue but about ensuring that we can provide the best standard of life, opportunity and success for our constituents to live life and have a happy, stable home. Minister, in your response, I would welcome your touching on the strategies, targets and conversations that you are exploring, particularly on second-home ownership and Airbnbs. It is such a lucrative sector, but it is undoubtedly negatively impacting on my constituents. I have seen a trend of Housing Executive houses being bought and, a year or two down the line, turned into Airbnbs. Local families then knock on my office door and ask, "What do we do? I have no access to a house". That is why I am here today to raise this with you, Minister. I thank all who are in the House for being here.

1,374 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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