By Kevin McAteer

If you are homeless and the Housing Executive places you in emergency or temporary accommodation, do you lose your housing points? Here is what the official rules actually say.

There can be a lot of confusion around Northern Ireland’s social housing points system.

One question in particular regularly causes concern:

“If the Housing Executive puts me into emergency or temporary accommodation, will I lose my housing points?”

The simple answer is:

No. Being placed in temporary accommodation does not automatically mean your housing points are wiped.

In fact, the official Housing Selection Scheme specifically provides for certain Full Duty Applicants to receive additional points after spending six months in qualifying interim accommodation.

Here is how the system works.

First: What are housing points?

Northern Ireland uses a points system to decide priority for permanent social housing.

Applicants are placed on a waiting list and generally ranked according to their housing need.

The official Housing Selection Scheme says applicants can receive points in three main areas:

1. Insecurity of Tenure

This includes homelessness.

2. Housing Conditions

This can include issues such as sharing facilities, overcrowding and certain problems with the condition of your accommodation.

3. Health/Social Well Being

This assesses circumstances including functionality, care or support needs and qualifying social needs.

Importantly, the rules state that applicants are considered under each section and that points are cumulative unless otherwise stated.

In simple terms, your total points can be made up of different types of housing need.

What is a Full Duty Applicant?

You may hear the term “Full Duty Applicant” or “FDA” when dealing with the Housing Executive.

The Housing Selection Scheme defines a Full Duty Applicant as someone to whom the Housing Executive owes a duty under Article 10(2) of the Housing (NI) Order 1988 to secure that accommodation becomes available for them.

FDA status is therefore particularly important when discussing homelessness and housing points.

What happens to your points if you enter temporary accommodation?

This is where the official rules are particularly useful.

Rule 24 of the Housing Selection Scheme states that Full Duty Applicants receive the relevant homelessness points.

But it doesn’t stop there.

The rules specifically state that these applicants can also be entitled to:

Housing Conditions points

Health and Social Well Being points

and

Interim Accommodation points where relevant.

So simply entering temporary accommodation does not mean the system automatically resets your points to zero.

What happens after six months in interim accommodation?

This is probably the most important part for people currently living in emergency accommodation.

The Housing Selection Scheme states:

“These points will be awarded to a Full Duty Applicant who has been residing for six months…”

in accommodation provided under the Housing Executive’s interim duty.

Crucially, the rules then state that these points are in addition to the applicant’s Full Duty Applicant homelessness points.

In plain English:

If you are a Full Duty Applicant and have spent six months in accommodation provided under the Housing Executive’s relevant interim duty, the rules provide for additional Interim Accommodation Points.

They do not replace your FDA homelessness points.

They are added to them.

So do you lose ALL your points when you enter emergency housing?

No, not simply because you have entered temporary accommodation.

The official rules do not say that accepting temporary accommodation automatically wipes your points.

Instead, Rule 24 specifically provides for Full Duty Applicants to retain the relevant homelessness award while also potentially qualifying for other categories of points and, where the criteria are met, Interim Accommodation Points.

That is an important distinction.

But can your points ever change?

Yes.

This is why we don’t want to tell readers that their points can never go down.

Housing applications are based on an applicant’s circumstances.

The rules require applicants to notify their landlord of any material change in circumstances that might affect their place on the waiting list.

Different types of points also have their own qualifying conditions.

Therefore, the safest way to understand it is:

Temporary accommodation itself does not automatically wipe your points. However, your overall points can change if your circumstances or entitlement to particular categories of points change.

What if I have medical or social needs?

These should not simply be ignored because someone is homeless.

The scheme specifically provides for a Health/Social Well Being Assessment.

It can consider four areas:

Functionality

Support/Care Needs

Social Needs

Complex Needs

There are detailed rules governing when points are actually awarded, so having a health condition does not automatically mean receiving medical-related points.

The assessment looks at how circumstances relate to the applicant’s housing situation and whether rehousing could address the identified need.

What about overcrowding or sharing?

These can also potentially affect an applicant’s points.

The scheme contains separate provisions for sharing and overcrowding.

For overcrowding, the Housing Executive considers whether the current accommodation has the number and size of bedrooms reasonably required by the household.

This again demonstrates why someone’s total housing points can consist of much more than their homelessness status alone.

I’ve been on the waiting list for years. Does that matter?

Potentially, yes.

The Housing Selection Scheme contains Time in Housing Need provisions.

An applicant who has points and has been on the waiting list for two years or more is entitled to Time in Housing Need points, which are then awarded annually for a maximum of five years after that initial two-year waiting period.

This is another area applicants should check when reviewing their points.

Can I choose where I want to live?

Applicants who have the right to choose areas can select Common Landlord Areas in which they want to be rehoused.

The rules say applicants will be considered for properties belonging to participating landlords within their chosen areas unless they indicate otherwise.

However, restricting your choices can naturally affect the number of suitable properties for which you can be considered.

How many housing offers can I receive?

Under the current scheme, applicants are generally entitled to a maximum of two reasonable offers.

A reasonable offer must take account of matters including:

the size of the accommodation,

the suitability of the location,

the suitability of the property’s features,

and

the condition of the accommodation.

This is important because refusing offers can have consequences.

If an applicant refuses two reasonable offers, the rules state that no further offers will be made for one year after the date of the second refusal, subject to the scheme’s transitional arrangements.

What should you do if you’re in emergency accommodation?

If you are currently homeless or living in Housing Executive-arranged temporary accommodation, don’t rely solely on what someone else has told you about their housing application.

Every case can be different.

Ask the Housing Executive for:

• your current total number of points and a breakdown of how they were awarded;
• confirmation of whether you have Full Duty Applicant status;
• confirmation of the date your qualifying interim accommodation began;
• whether you qualify for Interim Accommodation Points;
• whether all relevant housing, health and social circumstances have been assessed;
• confirmation that your contact details and areas of choice are up to date.

The key points to remember

Entering emergency or temporary accommodation does not automatically wipe your housing points.

Full Duty Applicant homelessness points and Interim Accommodation Points are separate awards.

Qualifying Full Duty Applicants can receive Interim Accommodation Points after six months in accommodation provided under the Housing Executive’s interim duty.

Those Interim Accommodation Points are expressly described in the rules as being in addition to the FDA homelessness points.

Other housing, health and social circumstances can also contribute to an applicant’s overall points, subject to the individual rules governing those awards.

And finally:

Your points can change if your circumstances or entitlement changes, so always ask for an up-to-date breakdown of your individual assessment.

Know Your Housing Rights

The Housing Selection Scheme isn’t simply guidance. It is the scheme used for allocating permanent social housing through the Housing Executive and participating housing associations in Northern Ireland.

Its purpose is to provide a common system for assessing housing need across social housing.

For anyone currently facing homelessness, the most important thing is to understand your individual status, know how your points have been calculated and ask questions when something doesn’t appear correct.

Source: Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Housing Selection Scheme Rules, amended 1 April 2025.

ENDS