AQW 38583/22-27

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 20/01/2026
Answered On Date: 04/02/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
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.

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%).