Housing is critical issue of the decade, not just the election

Niamh Randall says only a firm political will by government and local authorities can tackle the spiralling housing crisis    

Housing is not only the critical issue for this election; it will be a defining issue for this decade.

Over the course of this election the housing and homeless crisis has continued to bubble away, sometimes under the surface, at other times at the forefront of the campaign. Some parties or political groupings have made it a lynchpin of their manifestos while for others the focus has, disappointingly, been more limited.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Government parties have sought to focus on longer-term plans and commitments while some opposition parties have seen the value of focusing directly on this issue.

The Simon Communities have spoken to many candidates around the country and most political parties/groupings during this election campaign, and it is clear that there are very real concerns. Most TDs and councillors will tell you it’s the number one issue in their constituencies. Where views diverge is in the acknowledgment of the devastating extent of the crisis, the measures which are required to address it, and the need for intervention.

The housing and homeless crisis is impacting every region and community around Ireland, people are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. The number of properties available to rent is at an all-time low while rents increased by 32.3% nationally since 2012. At the same time, the gap between market rents and rent supplement/HAP limits has widened. A Simon Communities’ 2016 study found that 95% of properties available to rent are beyond the reach of those in receipt of state housing support.

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Of all the properties available to rent, just one fell within rent supplement/HAP limits for a single person. Rent Supplement/HAP limits have not changed since June 2013 and rent supplement spend actually reduced from 2011 to 2015 by 40%. Meanwhile, there are more than 90,000 households on the social housing waiting list and social housing output during 2015 was too low to keep up with the crisis.

More and more people are living on the edge of homelessness and more people are becoming homeless.

The number of people entering emergency accommodation has grown month after month. There was a 40% increase to the total number of people in emergency accommodation nationally from December 2014 to December 2015; a 90% increase in the number families and an 84% increase in the number of children. There are now more than 5,000 people trapped in emergency accommodation. There are still people sleeping rough on our streets. The official rough sleeper count in Dublin conducted in November 2015 found there were 152 people without a place to sleep on the night of the count. This is a minimum figure and there is a gap between street counts and the reality.

We continue to encourage people around the country to ask their local candidates about housing and homelessness; it is the biggest challenge facing the country right now. According to recent figures, one in five people are worried about losing their own home. Twenty-five percent of those in the study are worried about being able to meet housing costs; increasing to 31% when it comes to paying the rent. The Simon Communities know first-hand that more and more people are on the edge of homelessness.

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EU SILC data tells us 29% of households are living in enforced deprivation. Unless urgent and decisive action is taken, this situation is clearly going to worsen for many, many more people and families.

The new Government must act immediately and prioritise homelessness and housing as a matter of urgency. This means preventing more people from becoming homeless by keeping people in the homes they have, increasing rent supplement/HAP limits is critical to achieving this.

We need measures to support buy-to-let mortgages in distress — properties that may not be the mortgage holders’ principle residence but they are someone else’s home. Those trapped in emergency accommodation must be supported as quickly as possible to move into homes of their own with the support they need. A comprehensive plan for the private rented sector is needed to give greater stability, affordability, and security of tenure.

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Local Authorities need to build and deliver social housing on the scale required — full delivery of existing commitments is urgently required with renewed emphasis on building and acquiring units.

People are entitled to better. We can’t tell people trapped in emergency accommodation today, those sleeping rough tonight, and those living on the edge of homelessness every day to hang on two years for social housing to begin to deliver. People need homes now. That requires political will, a whole-of-government agreement that people are entitled to affordable and secure homes. Then we need to provide them.

Niamh Randall is head of policy and communications at Simon Communities of Ireland