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A pivotal moment for homelessness in Northern Ireland
Systemic change is required if Northern Ireland is to successfully move on from managing homelessness to preventing it
SUPPORTED HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS
Nicola McCrudden
Chief Executive, Homeless Connect
Nicola McCrudden
Chief Executive, Homeless Connect
Issue 85 | September 2026
Northern Ireland's homelessness system has been under growing pressure for several years. More people are experiencing homelessness and many are spending longer in temporary accommodation. A chronic shortage of social and affordable housing, alongside rising costs and wider social and economic pressures, has led to increased housing insecurity.
There is also growing recognition across government, statutory agencies and the voluntary sector that crisis intervention alone is neither desirable nor sustainable. Since the Covid pandemic, attention has increasingly turned to prevention and longer-term solutions, with Homeless Connect helping to shape debate on how we can move from managing homelessness to preventing it.
The Northern Ireland Audit Office report in 2025 and the Public Accounts Committee inquiry report in 2026 mark an important point in that journey. Both highlighted the scale of the challenge and reinforced the need for stronger prevention, improved governance, reduced reliance on costly temporary accommodation and increased housing supply.
Investment in prevention
These issues have long been raised by Homeless Connect and its members. Frontline organisations have consistently called for greater investment in prevention, stronger partnership working and a more strategic approach to tackling the causes of homelessness. The recent reports add weight to those calls and create an opportunity to turn consensus into action.
Money and resources matter, but prevention is about more than funding. It means identifying housing problems early and intervening before people reach crisis point. Every successful intervention helps a person or family avoid the trauma of homelessness, maintain connections to employment, education, family and community and reduce wider pressures on housing, health and justice systems.
There is also renewed interest in whether Northern Ireland's legislative framework remains fit for purpose. Almost four decades after the Housing (NI) Order 1988, it is right to consider whether the law reflects current understanding of homelessness and the need for earlier intervention. NI Assembly research has shown how other jurisdictions have reviewed and reformed homelessness legislation, with greater emphasis on prevention and shared responsibility.
A legislative review arising from the PAC inquiry would therefore be a significant opportunity. It could consider stronger prevention duties, earlier intervention mechanisms and improved interagency cooperation to identify housing risk sooner and prevent more households entering homelessness. Homeless Connect will continue to work with members, people with lived experience and statutory partners to ensure frontline knowledge informs reform.
“Money and resources matter, but prevention is about more than funding. It means identifying housing problems early and intervening before people reach crisis point.”
Shared challenges
As Northern Ireland considers its next steps, there is value in looking beyond our own jurisdiction. Housing systems and legislation differ across the island of Ireland, but many challenges are shared, including supply constraints, affordability pressures, rising demand for support services and increasingly complex needs.
People live, work, study and travel across the island, and their experiences do not always fit neatly within administrative boundaries.
This creates opportunities for policymakers, researchers, service providers and people with lived experience to learn from one another. An all-island approach does not mean identical policies; it means sharing evidence, innovation and practical experience.
Understanding what works in different contexts, and learning from successes and challenges, can help avoid duplication and support better decisions. Northern Ireland has much to learn from others, and valuable expertise to contribute.
Yet policy and legislation alone will not deliver change. Homelessness organisations continue to face rising costs, workforce pressures and funding uncertainty. Sustainable progress requires sustainable investment, adequate housing supply and effective support services.
From ambition to lasting change
Northern Ireland is at a critical juncture. There is growing recognition that homelessness is a systemic challenge requiring coordinated action across housing, health, justice and community services. The challenge now is to ensure consensus on prevention is matched by the funding, housing supply and reform needed to turn ambition into lasting progress.
No single intervention will solve homelessness. However, prevention, investment, housing supply, legislative reform and shared learning together offer the strongest foundation for change. By working together both within Northern Ireland and across Ireland, we can strengthen our collective ability to prevent homelessness, reduce harm and improve outcomes for individuals, families and communities.
“No single intervention will solve homelessness. However, prevention, investment, housing supply, legislative reform and shared learning together offer the strongest foundation for change.”
