Urgent reform of Housing Executive’s ‘party house’ protocol needed

The ongoing social housing crisis in Derry has prompted a call for the urgent reform of Housing Executive protocol regarding properties reported as non-occupied.

Speaking to The Derry News, Aontú Ballyarnett representative, Emmet Doyle, said such properties are reported by members of the public as being empty, yet they are under tenancy according to Housing Executive records. 

Mr Doyle added: “Sadly, there are properties in the city which have a tenant listed, but they have no-one living in them on a full-time basis. 

“Over the years, numerous properties have been reported to me as simply being used for parties at the weekend or as  ‘backup’ accommodation in case a relationship breaks down.

“It is patently obvious, the process the Housing Executive uses to deal with these properties is not working. 

“When reported to the Housing Executive, a notice is sent to the property outlining that the Housing Executive believes the property may not be being lived in, and if it is wrong, for the tenant to contact his or her district office within a month. Naturally, if the property is being used as I have outlined, then the registered tenant will do this and the case is closed,” said Mr Doyle. 

The former Derry City and Strabane District councillor added that he had submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Housing Executive on the issue.

“According to the response I received, 160 such notices have been issued by the Housing Executive in the last five years in the West District,” he said.

“However, only 41 properties have actually been recovered and brought back on the housing list for deserving applicants.

“Across the North, 2,433 properties were issued a notice, and 953 were recovered. This demonstrates this is a significant problem, especially when we have so many people waiting on homes. 

“Clearly, the process being used by the Housing Executive to address the problem of non-occupied homes is completely out of date. It needs a complete overhaul in order to recognise the nuances of how some people are selfishly hoarding accommodation which they no longer need.

“I am calling for Housing Executive officials to review the process so we can get as many properties back into use for the thousands of applicants waiting.”

In response to a Derry News enquiry, a spokesperson for the Housing Executive said: “The figures contained within the FOI demonstrate that we proactively monitor occupancy of our homes.

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“With local teams on site on a regular basis, we routinely inspect and manage our homes, so we are very much aware of our tenants in occupancy.

“There are occasions that we are made aware that a Housing Executive property may be unoccupied, and we will investigate these cases.

“Our current overall occupancy rate is 99.67%.

“During Q1 – 3 of 2024/25 we have only deemed it necessary on nine occasions to recover a property in the West area due to abandonment or non-occupation.

“We will always manage our homes to ensure the optimum amount of them are available to let for those who are on the waiting list for social housing.”