Debate contribution: New Deal for Private Renters in Northern Ireland

Debate contribution by Ms Kate Nicholl on 24 February 2025.

MLA

Ms Kate Nicholl

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

24 February 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

New Deal for Private Renters in Northern Ireland

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4813988

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank my colleague Kellie Armstrong for proposing this important motion and for her hard work in developing the policy proposals that she set out so eloquently earlier. I agree with Robbie Butler. Housing is the number-one issue in my constituency office, and it is one of the most fundamental and important things that we can talk about in the Chamber. To humanise the debate, I want to share some of the reality of what people are going through. I am grateful to my constituents who were happy for me to share some of their experiences. One is a single parent who works full-time in healthcare. They have rented privately for 20 years and currently share a bedroom with their child because the private market is too unaffordable and too insecure. They were in a house, but the rent went up; they could not afford it any more, and they had to get the deposit together for another house. It was a vicious cycle. They have been left traumatised by it and say that they will never again rent privately. That is someone who works full-time in our healthcare service. Another constituent is renting privately because the Housing Executive has not yet been able to find them something suitable. She lives with her partner and three children in overcrowded accommodation, which is so small that she is sharing a bed with one of her children. In another case, the individual can afford private rent, but only because the house is so old and costly to heat. They have developed mobility issues, and the house is no longer suitable or affordable because they are not entitled to more than statutory sick pay, which puts a real strain on the entire family. In my office we have been supporting a single mum of two, who is expecting her third child — something that I can sympathise with. I am not living through what she is, and I do not know how she is going through that. There are issues with extreme damp in their house. They are on the Housing Executive waiting list, but that has been the case for such a long time, and we all know that the likelihood of that changing any time soon is unlikely. In many cases, constituents are coming to me about houses that are simply not fit for habitation. In a particularly shocking case, there was mould throughout the house that was so severe that it was beginning to grow on clothes and shoes. One person told me that they began to wake in the morning with a headache and sore throat, which, with hindsight, they attributed to the mould. Condensation became so bad that wallpaper began to peel off the kitchen wall. Combined with an unreliable central heating system and poor insulation, they were spending a fortune on heating but still living in a house that was cold almost 24/7. They moved out at the end of the 12-month contract, and after even all that, the landlord sought to withhold their deposit. That was a few years ago, and the property has remained vacant ever since, which tells you everything about the property. As a representative for South Belfast, I know that students are facing real challenges in the private rented sector. According to a recent NUS-USI survey, around 35% of students in Northern Ireland live in private rented accommodation, and they have to deal with the very real challenges of high rental costs and poor housing. The survey states that 35% of students had difficulty paying rent, almost 20% had less than £50 a month left after paying rent, and 92% of renters had experienced some issues with their accommodation such as mould, damp, plumbing or noise. One student told me that when they moved into their apartment, the window pane was cracked and the landlord initially accused them of having broken it, before providing them with duct tape to put over the crack. The landlord gave the student a tea towel with which to dry the condensation, but there was so much of it that it was dripping onto the bed. A council inspection of the house found several issues, including mould, exposed wiring and out-of-date fire safety equipment. The council gave the landlord a list of fixes to action before the follow-up inspection, which was set for 30 days later at 12.00 pm. The student told me that the landlord, having not done any of the maintenance, showed up without warning at 11.30 am on the final day with a tin of paint and asked to get into the room to paint over the mould before the inspectors arrived. There are many good landlords, of course. There are great examples, but there are some who really need to do better, and that is what our proposals seek to address. Your house should be a home and a sanctuary. For too many in the private rented sector, it is the opposite. For many constituents, the positive experiences are far from universal. Life as a private renter should never be defined by a constant fight to keep a roof over your head. We should not and cannot accept that.

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

Assessment

Not qualifying

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:01 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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