“Not willing to go through a formal process” -- or not willing to live in fear?

On Monday 15 June the BBC published this:

“DUP Leader Gavin Robinson said he was aware of some people who had left their homes in the past week who were "not willing to go through a formal process" when it comes to housing support.”

“He said some were receiving charitable help, but that there was a "mixed picture" at present.”

Here, for anyone who needs them, are a few reasons some displaced people may not be up to facing the Housing Executive’s “formal process” for housing support.

They’ve been through the process already and were denied support as they were ‘not vulnerable’ enough

Amongst the people displaced last week were numerous single men granted refugee status by the Home Office but told by the Housing Executive, when they presented for housing support, that they did not meet the ‘priority need’ test for Full Duty Applicant homeless status. They asked for help; the Housing Executive told them that it had no duty towards them.  This is not new, and indeed PPR recently assisted a single man left to sleep homeless on the streets to challenge such a decision successfully with the assistance of a solicitor.

Since then, such men have therefore been making their own way, finding shelter where they can as they also try to find and stay in work in hopes of eventually being able to rent privately.

On Friday 12 June Housing Executive staff reopened the files of some men from this cohort who managed to present to them in person. It told these individuals that it would re-assess their cases, and offered them emergency accommodation as an ‘interim duty’ while assessments are carried out. This was a welcome step; and the outcomes will bear watching.  There are many more however who were not able to physically present to housing officers on the day. Their status is unknown. Having been refused once however, any reluctance is understandable.

In response to NI Assembly questions (like AQW 35016/22-27 from MLA Matthew O’Toole) and FOI requests on this issue, in January 2026 the DFC and Housing Executive denied any change in practice. 

In light of last week’s violence and the precedents from previous summers, the Housing Executive must reach out to the newcomer men it has refused as ‘not vulnerable’ / ‘not priority need’ in the past; reopen their files; reassess them as ‘vulnerable’ and in need of housing support; and offer them somewhere safe

They’ve been through the process already but had to choose between taking the places offered or being able to work

Some of the people (including women) displaced by the violence had been granted homeless status by the Housing Executive only to be offered accommodation in remote or rural areas where they feared they would not be able to find work.  The Home Office bars people from working while in the asylum system; on receiving refugee status they are desperate to find jobs, earn and support themselves. The locations the Housing Executive offered forced them to choose between housing support and work; they chose work. It’s a commendable choice – but it has left them exceedingly vulnerable.

This week, people displaced by violence again faced the false choice between taking Housing Executive offers in distant localities or keeping their hard-won jobs. Some again had to choose the latter, although they did so reluctantly and in fear. 

To fulfil the “collaborative working towards shared outcomes” described in the Executive Office’s Refugee Integration Strategy, Housing Executive offers to newly recognised refugees must facilitate their integration – for instance by taking into account their immediate need to find or keep work. 

The Housing Executive offers are to places where they do not feel safe.

Last week, people inciting hate and violence downloaded a list of Belfast properties from the HMO database and circulated it widely, causing panic.  Some people reported that the police knocked on their door to tell them their address was on the list and – rather than trying to ensure their safety – advised them to leave and try on their own to find somewhere safer.

When the Housing Executive offers to place people in areas where others who look like them were just days ago forced to flee, it should not be surprised when they decline. It is not reasonable to expect people who escaped one frying pan to willingly jump into another: there may be an AI-type bureaucratic logic at play here, but there is no human logic, not to mention empathy.

In March 2025 the DFC announced plans for the Housing Executive to buy 600 homes for use as temporary accommodation. By FOI in May 2026 the latter confirmed that to date zero homes have been bought, not however through NIHE’s fault. The FOI response read: 

“the Housing Executive has already progressed all the preparatory work that is within its control and is ready to move at pace once it receives confirmation from DfC that the Business Case conditions are approved.“

Fifteen months on from its big announcement -- what is the DFC waiting for?