Build more housing

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-63629852


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At 69, Barbara Kennedy had hoped her house-hunting days were behind her.

The auxiliary nurse from Belfast is living in private rental accommodation, but she cannot afford to keep paying the £675 monthly rent for her current property.

She plans to move in January, ahead of her 70th birthday. Spiralling rental costs mean finding another home won't be easy.

"I don't know where I'll be. I can't go out and rent anywhere else," she said.

Ms Kennedy was diagnosed with breast cancer at the start of this year. She has not been back to work since and has now decided to retire from her hospital role.

"I have to move out in the middle of January. I can't afford it. My pay has stopped and I'm living off my pension.

"I've managed to put a month's rent away for now."

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Ms Kennedy said she had been on the social housing waiting list for seven years.

She hopes the change in her income may improve her eligibility and is awaiting news from the Housing Executive.

"I don't think there's any help for people out there," said Ms Kennedy. "When I was trying to find somewhere to rent it was dreadful.

"Every place I contacted had already gone. There were so many people looking for somewhere."

Almost 44,000 households[/size] in Northern Ireland are on the waiting list for social housing.

Catherine Feely, advice services manager at the Housing Rights charity, said this meant the private rental sector was increasingly relied upon by people on low incomes. But huge demand and low supply are fuelling price rises.

The average monthly cost of a private rental in Northern Ireland was £742 by the end of September, a rise of 18% since 2019, [size=inherit]according to research by PropertyPal[/size].

"If someone is on a low income job, they can't afford to be paying £700 to £800 a month," said Ms Feely.