Guidelines for New Emergency Accommodation

Housing for All recognises that reducing and preventing homelessness is a priority for the Government and there is a particular focus on reducing the number of homeless families and individuals. Increasing the level of overall housing supply, particularly in terms of social housing, and ensuring stability in the rental sector are essential to addressing the challenging situation in relation to homelessness. Housing for All recognises this and sets out actions to address these issues.

Housing for All (Action 3.6) places an emphasis on the development of emergency accommodation through local authority or AHB owned facilities for those who are homeless. This includes the acquisition of properties for conversion or land for purpose-built facilities under the capital funding streams available. Housing for All specifically commits under Action 3.6 to provide capital funding to develop further supported emergency accommodation for families and individuals experiencing homelessness. Furthermore, where local authorities have identified this need, Housing for All commits under Action 3.7 to prepare and publish guidelines to assist local authorities and AHBs when they are considering acquiring existing buildings for conversion for use as emergency accommodation. The publication of the Guidelines for New Emergency Accommodation meet this commitment under Housing for All. The Guidelines have been developed to ensure that there will be sufficient quality accommodation to meet the needs of those experiencing homelessness and that such accommodation affords those experiencing homelessness dignity and respect to minimize the trauma of homelessness.