Safeguarding homes in challenging timesAnnual Review 2011- 2012

Mortgage Debt Advice Service (thus enabling our specialist advisers to provide assistance to an increased number of clients) and issuing a Ministerial Direction to enable free representation to be made available for those attending court who are facing repossession as a consequence of debt. Both these initiatives are warmly welcomed by Housing Rights Service and will undoubtedly help to save homes.

More, however, needs to be done to help people face the acute challenges which exist within our local housing market. There is acceptance in the, recently published, “Housing Strategy for Northern Ireland” that government needs to increase supply to address the shortage of affordable homes. It is also imperative that Government recognises the importance of further measures to support existing home owners and tenants who are struggling to afford to keep their current homes.

I hope you will take time to read the review of our year. We are proud of what we have achieved and of the work we have undertaken to help safeguard the homes of local people. I am aware that this has only been possible due to the continued generosity of our funders and the hard work and commitment of our staff team. I extend my sincere thanks to them and to my colleagues on the Management Committee for their ongoing support.

Chairman’s Overview

This year has been one of significant challenges within our local housing market. Much attention has been directed towards the impact of the continuing economic downturn and problems of negative equity within the owner occupied sector. This has been compounded by a limited supply of social housing and reductions in the level of help available with housing costs for many of those living in the private rented sector. These circumstances have contributed to the extent of the housing problems which people living in NI have faced during the year.

In this context it is perhaps inevitable that Housing Rights Service has experienced unprecedented demand for advice and assistance. The growth in demand for advice has not only been from those falling into mortgage arrears, but also from people living in the private rented sector and from those who were already homeless.

Against this stark backdrop the focus of our work has been primarily to prevent homelessness by safeguarding homes. For those clients where this has not been possible and for those who have already lost their home, our objective has been to help them to secure an alternative and affordable place to live.

During the year government has supported a number of positive developments which have helped us in our work. These included making additional funding available to our Andrew Hassard

Legal Advice and Representation ServicesHousing Rights Service delivers specialist advice to the public and other advice agencies in a range of ways. We constantly review and develop our methods of delivery to ensure services are developed in effective, value for money, sustainable formats and that our services impact across all of Northern Ireland.

TrainingHousing Rights Service has been delivering training for over 20 years. All our innovative courses are focused on housing legislation and case law and how it can be applied in practice. Many of our courses are accredited.

Legal Information ServicesWe provide specialist legal information to the public, frontline advice agencies, statutory bodies and private organisations. We provide online advice at www.housingadviceNI.org which contains up to date information for the public on housing and homelessness issues. We produce a range of publications aimed at building the capacity of others to provide quality advice.

Tenant Debt Advice Service (TDAS) This was initially set up as a pilot project in March 2010 as part of the Preventing Possession Initiative. The primary aim of the service is to prevent eviction and homelessness by incorporating independent debt advice into social housing rent arrears management procedures. This is a partnership arrangement between Housing Rights Service and a number of housing associations.

PolicyHousing Rights Service believes everyone has a right to a decent, safe and affordable home. Our policy work is based on the experiences of people who contact us for advice. We work on their behalf to secure positive changes to housing legislation, policy and practice in Northern Ireland.

Community Housing Advice Partnership (CHAP)Established by Housing Rights Service, Citizens Advice and Advice NI in 2004, CHAP ensures that good quality housing advice is accessible in local communities throughout Northern Ireland. 22 frontline advice agencies are currently involved in the partnership.

Housing Advice in Prisons projectWe manage and deliver this unique project in partnership with Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Northern Ireland Prison Service, Probation Board Northern Ireland and NIACRO. The principal aim of this service is to prevent homelessness amongst those leaving prison.

The Mortgage Debt Advice Service (MDAS)We deliver MDAS on behalf of the Department for Social Development. The aim of this Service is to help sustain communities and prevent people across Northern Ireland from becoming homeless as a consequence of housing related debt. It does this by providing specialist debt advice and, where necessary, representation. It also assists those who are not able to retain their home to find suitable alternative accommodation.

Housing Rights Service is the leading provider of specialist independent housing advice, training and information in Northern Ireland. We work to achieve positive change by protecting and promoting the rights of people who are in housing need in Northern Ireland.

A Directory ofOur Services

Provided advice to nearly 7,000 clients who had 40,000 housing issues

Provided representation at nearly 1,000 court hearings

78% of those people assisted at court had positive outcomes

Developed a brand new online resource containing advice and information for tenants and landlords in Northern Ireland.

Had over 500,000 visits to our public advice website www.housingadviceNI.org

Successfully tendered to provide the Mortage Debt Advice Service (MDAS) on behalf of the Department for Social Development until 2015.

Delivered positive outcomes for over 85% of CHAP clients.

CHAP Housing Advice Development Workers dealt with 5,045 issues in agencies across Northern Ireland.

Secured 11 changes in relevant policy/legislation/practice as a result of policy intervention.

Secured government commitment to fund representation for people facing debt related repossession in NI.

Successfully retained our Lexcel & Investors in People accreditations.

This year Housing Rights Service...

We provided training to nearly 800 people enabling them to keep their learning current and benefit their clients.

During the course of the year the Mortgage Debt Advice Service assisted 1,310 clients covering 4,186 issues and kept many people in their homes.

On our first application for EFQM we were awarded the Mark of Excellence.

The Year in Pictures

Janet Hunter, Housing Rights Service Director joins Minister for Justice David Ford to launch a video we produced encouraging people facing repossession to attend court. Nicola Michael joins Jim O’Callaghan and

Janet Hunter to accept the EFQM Mark of Excellence award.

Simon Hamilton, MLA; Janet Hunter; Andrew Hassard; Minister for Social Development, Nelson McCausland, MLA; and Paddy Gray at an event looking at landlord registration.

Nicola McCrudden and Fiona Douglas from HRS with Alex Maskey, Chair of the Social Development Committee

Sid McDowell CBE, The Honourable Mr Justice Deeny, Dr Alison Wallace and Sian Williams at our Preventing Possession Initiative celebration event.

This year, you said...

“I was treated with respect and courtesy at all times. My adviser was a real gentleman and explained everything in a concise way. I had to visit Court a number of times and he represented me - I could not have been in better hands”

“Had it not been for this service I believe my house would have been repossessed”

“I liked how you called after it was all over to see how I was doing.”

“From initial point of contact to the last, I found the service to be very professional and above that, very caring. Myself and my four kids are very grateful that this service was here to assist.”

“We are finding the Tenant Debt Advice Service more valuable this year.We have an increasing number of tenants wishing to engage with the service, particulary those who receive partial housing benefit and have problems claiming other benefits.”

“The lady that dealt with my query was exceptionally helpful, was very prompt and put my mind at rest almost immediately”

“It is very helpful to discuss policy impacts with Housing Rights Staff, it aids understanding and

contributes greatly to our knowledge”

“The Housing Practitioners’ Forum is a good opportunity to touch base with other housing advisers and it creates the space to talk about common problems”

“The manual helps us keep up to date with changes in legislation.”

“I love Housing Rights Service training, it is very informative and I love the accompanying handbooks. Thank you so much!”

“We found the service very professional, friendly, and we felt reassured and optimistic of a positive outcome

regarding our case. Thank you.”

This year we

In England, Scotland and Wales homeowners facing possession proceedings have been able to avail of Time Orders for some time. A Time Order allows the Court to restructure loans regulated under the Consumer Credit Act. For example, the term can be extended and the interest rate varied to reduce payments thereby preventing possession. Unfortunately, Time Orders had not been sought in NI and, as such, homeowners here were disadvantaged. As there was nothing legislatively to preclude the use of Time Orders in NI HRS sought to invoke this remedy and successfully did so for the first time in NI in the following case.

After he lost his job, Simon was unable to maintain his secured loan payments, consequently the lender initiated possession action. The only hope Simon had of retaining his home was if the payments could be reduced under the terms of a Time Order. Having sought

the assistance of Counsel, Housing Rights successfully advocated at court that a Time Order was the appropriate remedy in this case. The court ruled that a Time Order was indeed appropriate and the loan was restructured to ensure affordability.

Simon and his family were able to retain their home and a Time Order is now available as a potential remedy to prevent possession for local homeowners.

Safeguarding homes through strategic casework

The focus of our specialist Legal Advice Services Team work is on safeguarding homes and tenancies across Northern Ireland.

Throughout the year the team pursues strategic cases on behalf of our clients. Here is a flavour of some of the casework that has helped safeguard homes.

Securing Northern Ireland’s first Time Order

Highlighted our worries about the impact of the shared accommodation rate to the NI Assembly

This year we

LPS accepted our arguments and the threat of bankruptcy was withdrawn. John now makes sustainable payments that allow him to stay in his home. At an operational level LPS have now increased the trigger for initiating bankruptcy proceedings to £5000.

John and his partner were facing bankruptcy proceedings initiated by Land & Property Services (LPS) due to £4000 of rates arrears. When John approached us for assistance we were concerned that LPS would not accept a reasonable repayment proposal.

We advocated on John’s behalf highlighting decision making principles that place an onus on public bodies to act reasonably. Interference in an individuals home needs to be justified. We were concerned that a reasonable repayment proposal had been refused. To prevent interference in the home we also cited relevant case law to persuade LPS, the public authority, to act in a proportionate manner.

Making sure public bodies are fully transparent and reasonable in their arrears recovery

Over 90% of our Tenant Debt Advice Service referrals had positive outcomes

This year we

Maria was a vulnerable care-leaver with mental health problems. She was facing possession of her housing association property due to alleged anti-social behaviour.

It transpired that Maria was a victim of domestic violence and the anti-social behaviour was actually that of her ex-partner. We argued that her social landlord had failed to take account of the mitigating factors and that their response was disproportionate and unreasonable. We also proposed that supported housing would have been more appropriate to Maria’s needs. As a result, possession proceedings were stopped, homelessness was avoided and an appropriate allocation suitable to Maria’s needs was made.

Making sure possession proceedings are fair and reasonable

Successfully offered our training in new formats such as lunch time learning seminars that proved very popular

This year we

his home. The District Office requested that we make contact with the Housing Policy unit to raise the issue with them. After outlining Nick’s case to Housing Executive’s Policy unit, it was agreed that full housing benefit liability could be transferred to his father while he was in custody. This meant Nick could keep his home and wouldn’t face the prospect of being homeless when leaving prison.

The Housing Advice in Prisons Service provides a specialist housing advice within the three Northern Ireland prisons. Its principal aim is to prevent homelessness.

There are complex rules around housing benefit entitlement when in hospital or prison. When Nick entered prison his dad was told that Nick would have to give up his part of their joint tenancy if they wanted Housing Benefit to cover the full cost of the home.

After an in depth analysis of his housing situation we identified a Regulation that would mean Nick wouldn’t have to give up his portion of the tenancy.

Initially our adviser approached the Housing Executive District Office to see if Nick could make use of Housing Benefit Regulations (NI) 2006 via Regulation 8 (1) (c) (ii) to maintain

Safeguarding homes by determining Housing Benefit entitlement

Secured the first Time Order to be granted in Northern Ireland

This year we

Safeguarding homes through policy work

Our policy work is based on the experiences of people who contact us for advice. We work on their behalf to secure positive changes to housing legislation, policy and practice in Northern Ireland.

Safeguarding homes through accessing help at court

One of our key policy priorities is to “Ensure people in arrears can access emergency advice on the day of their possession hearing free of charge.”

We know first hand that losing the home has a devastating effect on families and individuals. Yet the majority of people facing housing possession proceedings as a consequence of debt in Northern Ireland arrive at court without legal help.

In England, Wales and Scotland public funding is available to provide free representation to people facing possession on the day of the court hearing. This has been a cornerstone in Governments’ response to mitigating the impact of the economic recession on those at risk of losing their home and has proved to be very effective in preventing possession.

However, it has been the practice in Northern Ireland not to provide legal aid for this type of assistance. The primary explanation given for this is that the legislation governing the administration of legal aid in Northern Ireland precludes the funding of such assistance.

Identifying the profound impact this was having locally we produced “No Defence- Why People in Northern Ireland facing possession are losing out”. This paper examined why people facing debt related possession action in Northern Ireland were disadvantaged in comparison to their counterparts in Britain. It also analysed the key drivers in mortgage repossessions locally, the cost and impact of repossession and the important role of advice and representation.

We followed the paper up with extensive lobbying with political parties and meetings with the Department of Justice and the Department

Developed brand new training to ensure practitioners and advisers were equipped to deal with legislative changes to challenging homelessness decisions

This year we

for Social Development to discuss opportunities for achieving a more equal footing locally. As a result of intensive advocacy on this key subject we were pleased that The Minister of Justice issued a Department of Justice Authorisation which allows the Legal Services Commission to provide funding for the defence of admitted debt proceedings:

• Based on mortgage arrears in respect of residential property in the High Court; or

• Based on rent arrears in respect of residential property in the county court.

This highly significant development should ensure that more homes across Northern Ireland are saved as a result of access to emergency court advice. Nicola McCrudden,and Ruth Barry with the First

Minister Peter Robinson MLA

Played a key role in strengthening Mortgage Pre Action Protocols

“The service cannot be praised highly enough. Without the Housing Rights Service and its work, a lot of people would now be homeless. It has given a lot of help and consolation to many people”

Mickey Brady MLA, Hansard debate on Mortgage Rescue

This year we

housingadviceNI.org is an online resource that aims to provide reliable independent housing advice and information to the public in Northern Ireland. The site continually strives to offer relevant and topical information that can assist the public with common housing issues.

Safeguarding homes with housingadviceNI.org

The boom and fall in property prices has brought massive changes to housing in Northern Ireland. Greater numbers of individuals and families are now turning to the private rented sector to meet their housing needs. This is evidenced by the fact that one in three of all queries to our advice line is about renting privately. We identified that both tenants and landlords could be greatly assisted with easily accessible information that could explain their rights and their responsibilities. With the help of a steering group made up of representatives from landlord bodies, the Chief Environmental Health Officers Group, the Department for Social Development, Smartmove and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, we developed a new online resource containing advice and information for tenants and landlords in Northern Ireland. The aim of this new site was to improve the experience of tenants and

landlords in the private rented sector by ensuring that both parties had free access to information which helped them understand and carry out their legal obligations.

The site was launched on 30 March 2012. It covers all aspects of renting a home, from finding a suitable property, through a tenant’s rights and responsibilities to ending a tenancy lawfully. The site also tries to simplify the letting process for landlords, explaining a landlord’s legal responsibilities relating to tax, insurance, property standards, tenants’ rights, eviction, deposits and protected tenancies. Tenants and landlords can also access some helpful letter templates and checklists which can help both parties manage the tenancy and their relationship.

Developing a dedicated online resource for private tenants and landlords

In conjunction with the Preventing Possession Initiative we developed a brand new ‘Prevention & Management of Rent Arrears’ course. Accredited through the Chartered Institute of Housing we delivered this 3 day course to our partner housing associations

This year we

Safeguarding homes with housingadviceNI.org

Speaking about the site Dr John McPeake, Northern Ireland Housing Executive Chief Executive said:

“With the continuing importance of the private rented sector in Northern Ireland in meeting housing need, there is a real need for information on the rights and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants. This dedicated website will provide an up-to-date and accessible housing advice resource for this sector of the housing market.”

Over 90% of our members considered membership good value for money

This year we

Housing Rights Service has been delivering market leading training in housing policy and practice for over 20 years. We help voluntary and community bodies, statutory agencies and private business enhance their skills and knowledge by accessing our innovative training courses.

Safeguarding homes through training

Part of the remit of our Preventing Possession Initiative was to tackle the growing issue of homelessness as a consequence of debt in Northern Ireland. As well as witnessing the impact of mortgage debt, we have seen increasing numbers of tenancies at jeopardy.

In recognition of this, and with input from members of our Preventing Possession Partnership, we decided to develop a suite of debt courses. Our aim was to ensure that we provided complete coverage of this complex area at a number of levels appropriate to people’s needs. The courses ranged from an introductory level dealing with housing debt right through to very specialist courses looking at possession proceedings.

With over 235,000 local tenancies across the private and social rented sectors, we felt it was vital to develop a course which dealt specifically

with “Rent possession proceedings”. This course focused on equipping professionals with the skills to keep people in their homes covering key issues such as:• payment of rent• dealing with arrears and court procedures• housing options available to those

losing their home due to rent possession proceedings.

Seventeen organisations, including many housing associations attended the one day course.

The development and delivery of a suite of debt courses

Developed courses to brief housing professionals on specific legislative changes, including the popular “Examining the changes brought in by commencement of the Housing Amendment Act 2011 and The Private Tenancies (NI) Order 2006”

This year we

Developed relationships with Mortgage Lenders leading to a number of direct practice changes that will benefit homeowners across Northern Ireland

HRS staff Lea, Emma, Magdalena and Chris are spoilt for choice at our “Bake a difference” day.

Ursula, Magdalena and Diane from HRS pick up the CIH NI award for Customer Service Excellence. They are joined by Andrew Hassard, Brian Rowntree and Dr John McPeake.

Minister McCausland is pictured with Maura McCallion and members of our Mortgage Debt Advice Service team following a successful tender to provide this service.

Jim O’Callaghan and Una McGirr pick up our runners up award in the Irish News Workplace and Employment awards.

The Year in Pictures

This year we

Increased our ability to help even more people by training 4 new peer advisers that can provide initial advice for those in prison experiencing housing problems

Our Legal Information Service provides specialist legal information to the public, frontline advice agencies, statutory bodies and private organisations. Throughout the year we produced a range of practical resources aimed at safeguarding homes.

With input from the various members of the Preventing Possession Partnership and the Council for Mortgage Lenders we produced a Guide on ‘Mortgage Debt? Forbearance Options’.

The guide provided detailed information on the types of mortgages, the role of the lender in avoiding court action, how to help clients deal with their housing debt, proposals that advisers can make on behalf of their clients and possible court action that can be taken.

Are you worried about your mortgage? Get advice now

As part of the Mortgage Debt Advice Service, we were asked by the Department for Social Development to produce an information booklet for owner occupiers in financial difficulty.

The booklet aims to get borrowers to deal with their debt problems at an early stage by encouraging them to seek help and not ignore their debt problems. It was made available to lenders so that they could forward it on to clients who were struggling financially.

Safeguarding homes through legal informationMortgage DebtForbearance Options

This year we

Our Housing Rights Manual has been our best selling publication and the main resource on housing law in Northern Ireland for many years.

Since 2010, we’ve been consulting with users of our Housing Rights Manual to discuss its future development and how it could best meet their needs

Following several meetings with many users a development plan which looked at various new formats was produced. A consensus was reached that the Manual should be transformed into an electronic publication that would be made available through the Housing Rights Service website. Users identified the main benefits of an online version as:

• More than one user in an organisation having access at the same time,

• Updates being made automatically, therefore

reducing the workload on users, and • Having an extensive search facility to easily

find the information needed.

Users tested the electronic versions accessibility, usability and overall appeal in March 2012. Feedback from our users was essential in ensuring that we produced a publication to meet the modern needs of our users.

The final updates to the paper version of the Manual were disseminated in March 2012, with the new e-version, ‘Housing Law in Practice NI’ ready to be launched in May 2012. This will mean that the many users of Housing Law in Practice will have the very latest information to assist people sustain their homes at the touch of a button.

Production of Housing Law in Practice NI

100% of our advice service users would recommend our service to others

Safeguarding homes through legal information

Unrestricted Restricted Total2012

Total2011

Incoming resources £ £ £ £

Grants from DSD 672875 191024 863899 805416

Oak Foundation 156907 156907 44871

NIHE 224191 224191 224191

DETI (via Citizens Adivce) 0 0 13148

DETI (via Advice NI) 20995 20995 25474

Big Lottery Fund (Via ASA) 11869 11869 7251

Northern Ireland Prison Service 43750 43750 40000

Marks & Spencer 2590 2590 10995

Training 27669 27669 32483

Membership Fees and donations 7680 7680 8460

Fees (TDAS) 16588 16588 10945

Sale of publications 2625 2625 2751

Legal services 26014 26014 9147

Sundry 1497 4625 6122 5

Investment income

Bank interest 1144 29 1173 1473

Share dividends 37 37 34

756129 655980 1412109 1236644

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2012

It is only due to the financial support from our funders that we are able to carry out our work. We would like to publicly thank all those who have supported us during 2011/2012.

• The Department for Social Development

• Northern Ireland Housing Executive

• Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment

• The Oak Foundation• The Big Lottery Fund• Northern Ireland Prison Service• Marks & Spencer

Financial Information

Unrestricted Restricted Total2012

Total2011

Outgoing resources £ £ £ £Housing Advice 707877 707877 688977

HANI 43679 43679 43585

CHAP 98383 98383 81921

Debt project (Citizens Advice) 0 0 13946

Debt project (Advce NI) 27075 27075 32590

Housing Advice in Prisons 116332 116332 110047

Online 0 0

Preventing Possession Initiative 103638 103638 119990

Mortgage Debt Advice Service 189607 189607 135294

Beat the Recession 16251 16251 9607

Bridging the Gap 30603 30603 0

707877 625568 1333445 1235957

Net incoming resources 48252 30412 78664 688

Unrealised loss on investment -207 -207 -145

Net movement in funds 48045 30412 78457 543

Funds at start of year 378520 220172 598692 598149

Funds at end of year 426565 250584 677149 598692

Unrestricted Restricted Total2012

Total2011

Administrative expenses £ £ £ £Wages and salaries 473334 430083 903417 843890

Employers National Insurance 43861 38876 82737 53567

Pensions 35725 2471 38196 37524

Recruitment costs 2673 5359 8032 1852

Staff training and welfare 10163 4971 15134 21985

Travel and subsistence 4738 7470 12208 11403

570494 489230 1059724 970221

Premises Costs

Rent and service charges 39135 33435 72570 71302

Light and heat 5408 4722 10130 7337

Cleaning and hygiene 1668 1408 3076 2422

46211 39565 85776 81061

General administrative expenses

Telephone and fax 8073 5616 13689 11446

Postage 5780 4597 10377 8329

Stationery and printing 5841 3239 9080 10310

Information and publications 951 718 1669 2550

Subscriptions 2201 263 2464 2544

Bank charges 445 92 537 629

Insurance 5186 4761 9947 10052

Software 19559 17254 36813 28512

EXPENDITURE ANALYSIS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2012

Unrestricted Restricted Total2012

Total2011

General administrative expenses contd. £ £ £ £Repairs and maintenance 2036 1308 3344 4310

General expenses 2072 53 2125 4656

User training 3349 3349 6495

Photocopier rental and copy charges 4751 3829 8580 8365

Project management 5014 5014 11805

Project training 13880 13880 12720

Room and venue hire 595 595 1584

Office equipment 5823 4331 10154 7876

Hospitality 1175 847 2022 2340

67837 65802 133639 134523

Legal and professional costs

Professional fees 5152 25410 30562 29016

Advertising and PR 1728 4295 6023 12098

Audit and accountancy fees 1486 1266 2752 3112

Legal services expenses 14969 14969 5925

23335 30971 54306 50151

Total 707877 625568 1333445 1235956

Janet Hunter - DirectorRuth Jackson – Administration OfficerJoleen Kane -Volunteer within Advice Team to May 2011Elaine Kerr – Receptionist to Jun 2011Jonathan Lamb – Housing Advice Development WorkerKaren Malcolmson – Housing AdviserInez Manson – Housing Adviser to Aug 2011Emma Kinghan – Administration OfficerNicola McCrudden – Policy and Communications ManagerCaoimhe McEleney - Housing Advice Development WorkerUna McGirr – Business Support ManagerChris McGrath – Housing AdviserFrances McGrath - Administration OfficerEdel McKee – Housing Advice TraineeDeclan McLaverty - Administrative Assistant Eamonn McLaughlin - Housing AdviserPeter McMahon – Legal Services and Support Manager (Planning and Development)

Maria McNally - Housing AdviserKelly Mitchell – Housing Adviser to Jun 2011Elaine Monaghan – Housing Adviser Claire Moss – Communications OfficerEtain Ni Fhearghail – Web Editor Jim O’Callaghan – Head of Operations Peter O’Neill - Policy & Participation OfficerBrenda Parker – Housing Advice Development WorkerAdele Pound – Administration AssistantWayne Simmons - Training Officer to Sep 2011Rebecca Smyth – Administrative Assistant to Aug 2011Calum Togneri - Receptionist / Admin AssistantLouise Togneri – Training ManagerUrsula Toner – Legal Services and Support Manager (Quality and Client Care)Richard Wallace – Volunteer with training teamLinda Watson – Senior Housing AdviserFaith Weru – Housing Adviser

Staff Members2011-2012

Ruth Barry - Policy OfficerMichael Black - Volunteer within Advice Team to June 2011Nicole Byrne – Housing Adviser to Sep 2011Denise Callaghan – Court Representation Officer Diane Callaghan – Administration OfficerMagdalena Chudzikiewicz – Housing AdviserNial Colton - Receptionist / Admin Assistant Aug to mid Oct 11Sarah Corrigan – Housing AdviserLea Dickson – Housing AdviserFiona Douglas – Policy Officer to Feb 2012Stephen Fennell – Housing AdviserCarmel Ferguson - SolicitorGeraldine Fitzsimons – Administration AssistantSharon Geary – Legal Services OfficerSarah Hamilton – Housing Advice Development WorkerSarah Harvey - Receptionist / Admin Assistant Sep to Oct 11David Hawkins – Housing Adviser James Higgins - Volunteer with caseworkIrena Howard - Housing Adviser Sep 2011 to Mar 2012

Member Organisations• Action for Children• Advice NI• Advice4DebtNI• Age NI• Aidan & Barry Flynn Properties• Alpha Housing Association• Antrim District CAB• Apex Housing• Ards Borough Council• Ards CAB• Ark Housing Association• Armstrong Solicitors• Assembly Ombudsman for NI• Ballymena CAB• Ballynafeigh Community Development

Association• Ballysillan Community Forum• Banbridge & District CAB• Belfast & Lisburn Women’s Aid (HQ)• Belfast Central Mission• Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre• Carrickfergus Borough Council• Carrickfergus CAB• Causeway CAB• Causeway Women’s Aid• Chartered Institute of Housing• Christians Against Poverty• Cithrah Foundation• Citizens Advice Belfast• Citizens Advice Regional Office• Clan Mór Sure Start

• Cleaver Fulton Rankin Solicitors• Con Lavery & Co• Connswater Homes Ltd• Corpus Christi Services• Council for the Homeless (NI)• Courtney Consulting• Craigavon & Banbridge Women’s Aid• Craigavon District CAB• Depaul Trust (Reg Off.)• Disability Action• Donal Farrell• Dove House Community Resource Centre• Down District CAB• Dungannon & Cookstown CAB• Dungannon & District Housing Association• East Belfast Independent Advice Centre

(EBIAC)• Edward Street Hostel Ltd.• Edwards & Co• Falls Community Council• Fermanagh CAB• First Housing Aid & Support Services• Flax Housing Association• Fold Housing Association• Francis Crilly Solicitors• Gingerbread NI• Gordon F.W McIlrath & Co Solictors• Gosford Housing Association• Greater Village Regeneration Trust• Grove Housing Association• Habinteg Housing Association (Ulster) Ltd• Habitat for Humanity NI• Haig Homes• Hearth Housing Association• Helm Housing• Higgins, Hollywood & Deazley

• Holmes & Moffitt Solicitors• Hosford House• Larne & District CAB• Law Centre (NI)• Lenadoon Community Forum• Ligoniel Improvement Association Advice

Services• Limavady Community Development

Initiative• Lisburn City Council (Env.Health)• Magherafelt District Advice Services• Maurice RJ Kempton Solicitors• McCann & McCann Solicitors• MENCAP• Methodist City Mission• Mid Ulster Properties• Mindwise• Mr Andrew Hassard• Mr Colin Curran• Mr Gavan Reynolds• Mr I.P. Williams• Mr Keith Leighton• Mr Neil Patterson• Mr Noel Kelly• Mr Tim Hopkins• Mrs Geraldine McConaghy• Ms Grainne Walsh• Ms Paula McGrogan• Mulholland After-Care Services• MUST Hostel• N.I. Deaf Youth Association• National Energy Action• Neighbourhood Development Association• Newry & Mourne District CAB• Newry & Mourne District Council (Env.

Health)

• Newtownabbey Borough Council• Newtownabbey CAB• NI Co-Ownership Housing Association• NI Federation of Housing Associations• NI Institute for the Disabled• NIACRO• NICEM• North Down & Ards Women’s Aid• North Down Borough Council• North Down Citizens Advice Bureau• Omagh Independent Advice Services• Open Door Housing Association (Bel)• O’Rorke McDonald & Tweed• Queen’s Student Union• Shelter• Shelter NI• Simon Community (NI)• Springfield Charitable Association Ltd• Strabane District CAB• Strabane District Council• Supporting Communities NI• Tar Anall• Tar Isteach• The Cedar Foundation• Threshold• Triangle Housing Association• Trinity Housing• Ulidia Housing Association• Upper Springfield Development Co. Ltd• Victoria Housing Estates Ltd• Vine Centre Ltd• Walker McDonald Solicitors• WAVE Centre• Women’s Aid - North Antrim

Member Organisations

Registered OfficeMiddleton Buildings4th Floor10-12 High StreetBelfast, BT1 2BA

Although great professional care and attention has gone into the preparation of this report and the contents are believed to be correct, Housing Rights Service will not be held responsible for any errors contained herein, or any consequence arising from the use of this material. In particular, no liability can be accepted where any person acts on reliance of anything contained within this report.

*All client information has been changed to maintain client confidentiality

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