AQW 38583/22-27 Written question to the Minister for Communities
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any assessment his Department has made of the extent to which landlord sales of private rented properties are contributing to homelessness presentations.
Asked by Claire Sugden MLA on 20 January 2026
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 20 January 2026
- Answer due by
- 4 February 2026
- Answered
- 4 February 202615 days after tabling
- Department
- Department for Communities
- Priority question
- No
Answer
My Department has not undertaken an assessment of the extent to which landlord sales of private rented properties are contributing to homelessness presentations.
According to the Northern Ireland Homelessness Bulletin, of the 8,217 households who presented as homeless between April to September 2025, the ‘loss of rented accommodation’ accounted for 1,197 (14.6%) cases.
The most common reason for presentation was ‘accommodation not reasonable’ with 1,866 (22.7%), followed by ‘sharing breakdown/family dispute’ with 1,777 (21.6%).