Renting from a Housing Association
Renting from a housing association can offer you security and is usually more affordable than renting from a private landlord. However, your choice of accommodation is restricted.
How to get housing association accommodation
If you want to rent from a housing association in Northern Ireland you must apply using the Selection Scheme. The Housing Executive will assess you before placing you on a waiting list for:
- Housing Executive accommodation
- housing association accommodation
The length of time you will have to wait for accommodation depends on your personal circumstances and where you want to live.
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Renting from a housing association
Housing associations aim to provide affordable rented accommodation to people who need it. Some housing associations focus on certain groups such as:
- older people
- single people
- students
- people with special needs
Housing association tenants have greater rights than private tenants and housing association rents are usually lower than those in the private sector. If you are a housing association tenant you can:
- pass your property to your family,
- improve your property if the housing association allow it,
- buy your home at a discounted price.
Potential problems with renting from a housing association
If you decide to rent privately, you have a varied choice of type, location and style of property. However, if you want to live in housing association or housing executive accommodation your choice is much more limited. You may also have to wait if you want to move to another property owned by a housing association or the Housing Executive.
It can be difficult to get permanent accommodation from a social housing provider because each housing association allocates accommodation based on your number of points on the Selection Scheme. In general, it can be more difficult to get accommodation from a housing association if:
- you are not considered homeless,
- you are single,
- you are in good health,
- you have no children under 16,
- you are under 18.
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