Northern Ireland is in the midst of a serious housing and homelessness crisis. Homelessness figures are at record levels, and demand for social housing in Northern Ireland has never been higher, with many families anxiously waiting for an affordable home that suits their needs.
I work within Simon Community’s Housing Solutions team and I speak to people every day who are desperate to access a safe and affordable place to call home. With limited social housing options, they are turning to private landlords. But the significant up-front costs associated with private rentals make this impossible for many.
To give some context, on average, deposits for private rental properties in Northern Ireland are £871 (PropertyPal, 2024). Considering one month’s rent in advance is required for most properties, this means at least £1,742 that needs to be paid up-front. The reality is that people simply cannot afford these staggering costs, and it leaves them vulnerable to homelessness.
This is where Simon Community’s Tenancy Deposit Scheme comes in. We aim to provide financial support to alleviate some of these costs, thus making the private rented sector a realistic housing option for those in need.
The Tenancy Deposit Scheme was set up in 2018, initially for people living in Simon Community temporary accommodation, but it was expanded in 2020 to help people across Northern Ireland who were experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. The Scheme was born out of a desire to create more realistic housing options for people living in poverty, given escalating demand on social housing.
Currently part funded by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Lloyds Banking Group, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme removes the financial barriers in accessing the private rented sector and offers alternative housing options. For many people, social housing is not a realistic option, particularly if they don’t have Full Duty Applicant status as it significantly lowers the chances of being rehoused. So, in this case, the private rented sector is the only option.
“I am so thankful for all the support with my tenancy. I am truly overwhelmed with all the help I have received from the housing solutions team.”
By providing deposits, we are preventing people from entering the homelessness cycle in the first place. And for those currently experiencing homelessness, we can make their homelessness as brief as possible by providing the deposits that mean they can move out of temporary accommodation quickly into a home of their own.
We are acutely aware of the rising pressures in the homelessness sector, and this is one of the key drivers in developing a scheme that helps people to access the private rental sector. The demand for social housing is increasing, resulting in long waiting times, which equates to longer periods of rough sleeping, sleeping in cars, sofa surfing, living in insecure housing, overcrowded accommodation or temporary accommodation. The wider impact on this is significant, the hopelessness, the dissociation from support networks, isolation from communities, the negative toll this has on a person’s physical, emotional and mental health is staggering – and the list goes on.
Combined with the budgetary cuts, leading to less social housing new builds, the demand is outweighing the housing stock. Worryingly, we know that projections for social housing new builds are between 400 to 600 in 2024/2025, which will mean the homelessness experience will no doubt extend further.
Whilst those numbers are shocking, we remain undefeated. We will continue in our mission to end homelessness in Northern Ireland.
As Simon Community we are celebrating our 500th deposit that has supported a family or individual get a home of their own, I’m immensely proud of what we have achieved.
We are taking this time to reflect back over those 500 deposits, to think about those people we have helped, whether it was support to exit homelessness or preventing homelessness from happening. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme plays a key role in pulling people out of homelessness and bringing families and communities back together. Significantly, we have given over 500 households the opportunity to create a safe space, a sense of belonging, and place to call home and we are so proud of that!
Written by Aisling Devine, Housing Solutions Manager
For more information or to support the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, please email us at info@simoncommunity.org