'Demoralising' not to own home as hostel solution only temporary

A homeless man has called for more action to provide permanent housing for people in Northern Ireland and to tackle the rising cost of private rental accommodation.

Curtis DuRose, who has been in temporary accommodation at a Simon Community hostel in Bangor since December, said it was "demoralising" not to have a permanent home.

"Although it is nice to have a roof over my head, and not be worried about being on the streets, it is temporary," he said.

The Department for Communities said minister Gordon Lyons had "ring fenced" an additional £2.5m for strategic homelessness prevention this year and into the future.

DuRose said he was previously a business owner and worked as a head chef in Scotland, but he cannot "get a minimum wage dishwashing job" in Northern Ireland.

"There just doesn't seem to be any money in this country, the economy is dead," he said.

"And I would definitely put a large part of the housing situation to that."

DuRose was speaking out after a report by the NI assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said multi-million pound spending on temporary accommodation and a lack of preventative planning, are driving the homelessness crisis.

It found that the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) had spent about £40m on temporary accommodation over the 2024/25 financial year - including £17m on "non-standard" hotels and B&Bs.

This had increased from a £7.6m spend on temporary accommodation in 2018/19.

Last month, it was reported that restrictions on Airbnb-style let accommodation in the Inverness area of Scotland are to be considered following concerns about their impact on local communities.

DuRose said more Airbnb-style accommodation in Northern Ireland had been a factor in the increased cost of private renting.

He claimed it was "more profitable" to own an Airbnb rather than rent a property to a permanent tenant.

"Due to that, there are now less houses available to rent which puts the price up – demand and supply – it is now a more rare commodity and therefore everyone is just hyping the prices up," said DuRose.

Jim Dennison, of the Simon Community, said the PAC report only confirmed that "our approach to homelessness must change".

He said "people and families remain trapped" in hotels, B&Bs and temporary accommodation.

"Until funding matches ambition and need, services will remain under intense pressure and people will continue to face uncertainty," said Dennison.

Nicola McCrudden, of Homeless Connect, said in order to drive the homeless figures down the Stormont executive must provide "long term, consistent funding".

David Carroll, chief executive of homeless charity Depaul, welcomed the PAC's call to recommend that within six months the Housing Executive publishes details of its plans to purchase the 600 homes designated for temporary accommodation.

"Depaul would call for a proportion of these properties to be designated as housing first type accommodation aimed at getting rough sleepers off the street," he said.

The NI Housing Executive said it had prioritised reducing reliance and expenditure on hotels and B&Bs, which were "widely recognised as unsuitable for households experiencing homelessness and are significantly more expensive".

It added that its use of hotels was "significantly" lower than elsewhere in the UK and the majority of NI temporary accommodation consisted of single-let properties in the private rented sector.

A spokesperson for the Department for Communities said as well as the £2.5m for Strategic Homelessness Prevention, Minister Lyons provided an additional £3m for the New Foundations Project to help make sure care leavers do not become homeless.

Another £10m was also provided for the LAMA scheme to help homelessness organisations buy homes for people currently living in hostels.