Housing information for people with refugee status

Information about housing for people with refugee status and how to get emergency housing if needed.

Private rented housing

In Northern Ireland there are properties available to rent from private landlords.

There are differences in the availability of properties and in cost of rent across all regions in Northern Ireland. You can look for a property and check typical rent prices in the areas in which you wish to live through estate agents and other websites.

Depending on your circumstances, you may also be able to receive some financial help towards the cost of your rent.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) can give you some advice on this:

About Housing Benefit

Find out how you can look for a private rental and get ready to move into a new home. 

Finding a private rental

Social housing

You may be able to apply for a social housing tenancy in Northern Ireland. This is rented properties from a social landlord such as the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) or other registered housing associations.

NIHE - how to apply for a home

These properties are for households in need and at an affordable rent that can be lower than average market rate.

Access to social housing is done through a single application and assessment. You would be helped through your application by the NIHE who will carry out an assessment for your property choices.

NIHE housing solutions and support

If you choose to apply for social housing, checks will be carried out on your eligibility under immigration rules. You will be asked to give evidence of your immigration status or a share code to access details of your e-visa.

If eligible, your application will then be assessed based on your family needs and circumstances and points will be awarded based on these. Social housing tenancies are then awarded to those with the highest level of points.

There is a large demand for social housing in Northern Ireland with over 48,000 people on the social housing waiting list.

You may need to wait some time before you are offered social housing, but tenancies are given based on need and to those with the highest level of assessed points.

Housing associations rent homes to tenants and specialise in homes for special needs groups. They also develop new social housing for renting but this can only be accessed through an application for social housing.

You can find contact details for registered housing associations in Northern Ireland at the following links:

Homelessness

The Housing Executive is legally responsible for helping people who are homeless and preventing homelessness in Northern Ireland.

You can get help if you have nowhere to live or are likely to have nowhere to live within the next 28 days.

Find out more about what is meant by homelessness. eligibility and more on the Northern Ireland Housing Executive website:

Are you homelessness?

When you contact the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, an assessment to understand your needs will be done. The support available will depend on your personal circumstances. You will be asked to give evidence of your immigration status or a share code to access details of your e-visa.

The Housing Executive may have a legal duty to offer you a temporary home if you appear to be homeless. You can live there while your homelessness application is being assessed.

If you are found to be homeless and assessed as a 'full duty applicant', the duty to offer a temporary home will continue until a more secure home can be found. For example, this may be through a social housing allocation. Your housing adviser at the Housing Executive will explain this to you in more detail.

The Housing Executive will try to get you the most suitable type of temporary accommodation, based on your household needs and your preferred area.

While the NIHE will try to get you temporary housing in the area you would like to live, this may not always be possible. A property could be offered to you on a temporary basis anywhere in Northern Ireland.

The Housing Executive will try to find you self-contained housing for you, where you have sole use of the property and facilities. Where this is not possible, placements can be offered in shared houses for single person households or in hostel type housing.

If no other housing is available, the Housing Executive may need to offer you emergency housing in a hotel or bed and breakfast type property. Placements in emergency housing should be short-term and a NIHE housing adviser will try to find you somewhere more suitable as soon as possible.

When deciding if a property is suitable, the Housing Executive should consider its:

size
safety
location
affordability

The Housing Executive also considers how long you are likely to stay in the property.

If you reject an offer of temporary housing, the NIHE is unlikely to offer you another property. This means you will have nowhere to live.

If you accept the offer, you can tell the Housing Executive why the property is unsuitable and ask them to offer you somewhere else.

It is not a good idea to reject an offer of temporary housing.

If you are not happy with the offer, speak to Housing Rights.

If you think that you are homeless or may become homeless, you should contact the NIHE on:

phone: 034 4892 0900 (8.30 am to 5.00 pm - Monday to Friday)

If you find that you need emergency accommodation outside of NIHE working hours (Monday to Friday after 5.00 pm, weekends, and holiday periods), then you can contact the out of hours emergency homelessness service on:

phone: 034 4892 0908

More help and advice

There is more information and advice at the following links:

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What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit. Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

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For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

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For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme, email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
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contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

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