Northern Ireland Housing Executive accused of "lack of empathy" over succession rule

A DUP rep has raised concerns the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) could be making adult orphans homeless in "tragic circumstances".
Lisbrun and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) will now raise the matter of the 'succession rule' to the Executive in a community safety strategy consultation due to be completed by the end of this month.
The NIHE was criticised over a "lack of empathy" in the local authority chamber this week.

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DUP Alderman, Paul Porter said: "I have been a councillor for almost 24 years and this matter has just been brought to my attention just recently. I have concerns about the current position of housing succession or transfer of a home to a child when a parent passes away.

"When a parent passes away, it is a tragic time for the children when they live in a NIHE home. There seems to be a lack of empathy. It is my understanding that a transfer of the tenancy can only be done once and only one person is named on the Executive rent book at a time.
"So, the situation we have is, if one parent who is named on the rent book dies, they can transfer to their partner or other parent. But then if the other parent or partner passes away, the son or daughter who has lived all their lives in the home, could find themselves homeless with an eviction letter in the post as they can't be transferred on to the rent book."
According to the NIHE website, a tenancy can generally only be passed on once through succession to another family member typically the deceased tenant's spouse, civil partner, or a close relative who was living with them at the property.
Alderman Porter added: "Many families don't realise that there can only be one transfer to a family member and not two transfers. We need to work with the authorities on this as there are situations arising of people losing mum, then dad, then losing your home.
"The grown up child may have been looking after their ill parent for some time before they die. And then they are being told to leave their home, without any security of a place to live.
"This is something that many are unfortunately finding to be a bigger issue as parents grow older and the children have lived in the family home for perhaps 30 years or more."

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