SINCE becoming elected in December 2019, I have met with hundreds of desperate families from right across the full span of our constituency – from the Shankill and Woodvale to the New Lodge, Newtownabbey and Ardoyne, each with their own individual story of heartbreak and frustration with their housing plight.
This week I met with a young mother who's been forced to sleep on her parent’s sofa whilst her new-born baby sleeps in a cot beside her, set up on the living room floor. Three and four generations of one family are living in overcrowded, under maintained and completely unsuitable accommodation and unfortunately these stories have become all too familiar in recent years.
A good home is the foundation of social, physical and mental wellbeing and is central to addressing our most pressing societal challenges, including poverty and inequality. The fact that there are thousands of children being reared in temporary accommodation or in severely overcrowded homes is only compounding the deep social challenges including the mental health crisis that we are facing.
As many of you will be aware, North Belfast is in a housing crisis. We face a chronic housing shortage, compounded by a historic absence of strategic planning which has resulted in over 4,000 families finding themselves on what seems a never-ending waiting list.
We need to build more social homes and we need to build them where they are needed, with a fair and modern allocation policy which delivers for those most in need.
The solutions to these challenges are not complex. They are not something that any political or community representative should ever fear. We need to build more social homes and we need to build them where they are needed, with a fair and modern allocation policy which delivers for those most in need.
Sinn Fein have a vision and a plan for a modern and inclusive Belfast where everyone, regardless of their economic or social background is entitled to a secure, sustainable and affordable home. Last year, Carál Ní Chuilín as temporary Communities Minister, announced the most radical shake-up to the Housing Executive in a generation, which will see the Executive have the power to actually build homes again, whilst also announcing the biggest public housing programme in decades.
In that same statement Carál outlined her frustrations in resect of our social housing targets. We have never achieved more than 2,200 social new build starts in one year. This is far too low. Indeed, if we are serious about ending this crisis then we need to be ambitious. We need to revitalise our social housing system, we need make it work better and we need to ensure that there are a lot more homes being built and this is what Sinn Fein are committed in doing.
I have spoken with a variety of young families in recent months, many of whom out of desperation have signed tenancies with private landlords to have their own space and privacy.
Rising house prices and the lack of social housing has driven many of us into the private rental market. For some, this is a suitable option but for many others it is their only choice. We haven’t built enough social housing, and therefore a whole generation has been excluded from having a secure home to call their own. I have spoken with a variety of young families in recent months, many of whom out of desperation have signed tenancies with private landlords to have their own space and privacy. Many of these homes are not up to standard and are severely overpriced.
We will be calling time on bad landlords and rogue letting agents whilst bringing forward legislation to the Assembly that will improve the safety, security and quality of the private rented sector. Tenants in this sector face the highest rents, and often get the least for their money. Landlords should not be allowed to exploit tenants, especially given that so much of the rent they receive comes straight from tax payers. It doesn’t matter if you rent a social house or from a private landlord, we will bring forward proposals to ensure your rent is fair and secures you a good home. Houses are homes. Everything we do must be based on this fundamental principle.
Locally, alongside the major initiatives that Sinn Féin ministers are proposing, we in North Belfast Sinn Féin are constantly engaging with the relevant bodies responsible for housing. We drove a recent project by Belfast City Council to identify land that could be earmarked for additional housing. This Friday, I will chair the first of a series of North Belfast housing conferences, with all of the key statutory partners, with the aim to establish a vision for ending the housing crisis in North Belfast and to hold those with the reasonability to deliver on housing to account.
Our proposals are not unrealistic neither are they too ambitious. We are committed to delivering stable and secure homes for all and working to ensure everyone has access to this most basic human right.
