Assembly Committee Says Multi-million Pound Spend on Temporary Accommodation is Driving Homelessness Crisis

An Assembly Committee has said the multi-million pound spend on temporary accommodation, as well as poor data and a lack of preventative planning, are driving the homelessness crisis here.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has set out its concerns and recommendations in a Report on Homelessness in Northern Ireland which is published today.  The report calls for a greater focus on prevention, a reduction in the use of hotels and B&Bs for temporary housing, the publication of clearer data and a ‘single strategic vision’ for homelessness.

The report follows PAC’s inquiry into homelessness which began in October 2025. Members heard evidence from the Department for Communities (DfC) and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) as well as a number of organisations from the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS).

The Department for Communities is responsible for homelessness and housing policy here and the NIHE is tasked with responding to it. * In 2024-25, the Housing Executive spent £75 million tackling homelessness.**

Daniel McCrossan MLA, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee said: “The Committee is alarmed by the rising costs of temporary accommodation and the impact long stays in housing like this has on the health and education of individuals and families.

“The number of homeless households in Northern Ireland has risen by more than 10,000 in the last five years. We believe that the short-term and reactive nature of preventative work on homelessness is driving the crisis we see today.  Our view is that an adequate supply of social and affordable housing is the key to tackling homelessness.

“In 2018-19, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive spent £7.6 million on temporary accommodation but in 2024-25 this figure soared to more than £40 million***, with £17 million of that amount spent on ‘non-standard’ hotels and B&Bs.

“Despite being a key pillar of the Department’s Homelessness Strategy, prevention has been consistently underfunded, as well as being short-term and reactive in nature.

“We are calling for a single strategic vision for homelessness to be developed and agreed between the Department and the Housing Executive, alongside a range of measures to assess long-term outcomes.

“The poor data available also masks the true scale of the issue. In 2025 there were 32,000 homeless households on the Housing Executive’s social housing waiting list - but the number of individuals affected was almost twice that at 61,000.

“We need more meaningful, people-focused data. We want the Department to ensure that, within the next six months, any published data on homelessness includes the number of people affected.”

The Committee welcomed plans by NIHE to ease its reliance on hotels and B&Bs with the purchase of 600 temporary accommodation units. However, Mr McCrossan said the Committee was surprised that officials could not provide more detail on timescales and locations.  He said they were told only of the Department’s ‘ambition’ to deliver 33,000 new social homes, rather than of any achievable and enforceable goals or targets. 

The PAC Chair said: “Homelessness is a complex issue which is much more than the absence of a physical home. For those who experience it, there can be long-term consequences for their health and education.

“Department officials told us the Homelessness Strategy was ‘sound’ but its delivery had been impacted by a range of factors including Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis. Witnesses from community and voluntary organisations disagreed and said that the roots went deeper than this.

“While officials attributed a lack of preventative work entirely to funding constraints, others said that a legislative duty to prevent homelessness here would result in more money being made available and could help with better cross-sector collaboration.”

Daniel McCrossan said that the practice of ‘treating’ homelessness with measures like temporary accommodation, rather than ‘curing’ it by investing in prevention, was shortsighted and had led to an increase in homelessness. He added that behind the figures were people and families facing real hardship.

He said: “We are recommending the Department works with the Housing Executive to explore options for a statutory duty in relation to homelessness prevention and that they bring forward proposals to the Minister for consideration within 12 months.”

ENDS

For further information please contact Felicity Templeton, Assembly communications office on 07977 635930 / felicity.templeton@niassembly.gov.uk

Notes to editors

Read PAC’s Report on Homelessness in Northern Ireland here: https://lk.cmte.fyi/rKTB

*The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) is tasked with responding to homelessness and publishes a Homelessness Strategy every five years. The Department for Communities (DfC) provides NIHE with funding for homelessness services and social housing new builds - which are mainly completed by housing associations.  DfC’s Homelessness Strategy has three key pillars: prioritising homelessness prevention, addressing homelessness by providing suitable housing / support services and supporting transition from homelessness into long-term housing.

**See the PAC Report on Homelessness in Northern Ireland – paragraph 6

*** See the PAC Report on Homelessness in Northern Ireland – paragraphs 6 and 18

• In the course of its Inquiry, PAC heard evidence from the Department for Communities (DfC); Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE); Depaul; Homeless Connect; Simon Community; Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) and the Department of Finance (DoF).
• PAC’s work on this area was prompted by an Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) report on homelessness in March 2025 which can be found here .
• The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a Standing Committee. It is PAC’s statutory function to consider the accounts, and reports on accounts, of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) (Northern Ireland Act 1998, Section 60(3)). PAC also considers value for money reports which follow an examination on the ‘economy, efficiency and effectiveness’, with which a public sector body has used its resources. These examinations take place under Article 8 of the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (‘the 1987 Order’).  Further information on the Committee Membership, its work and remit can be found here