Most people in Northern Ireland can apply for permanent accommodation from the Housing Executive or a housing association. You may not be allowed to apply if you come from abroad or the Housing Executive decides that you are guilty of unacceptable behaviour.

Even if your application is accepted you may be disqualified because of your behaviour over the last two years (or 6 years in some circumstances).

• General rules
• Homeless applicants
• HOMES applicants
• People from abroad
• People found guilty of unacceptable behaviour

General rules

Most applicants will only be allowed to apply for permanent accommodation in Northern Ireland if they meet the age requirements and have a local connection with Northern Ireland. If the Housing Executive decide you are homeless you may be entitled to more help. The rules about people from abroad are complicated. An adviser can help if you have been told that you can't apply for help.

Age requirements

You usually must be over 18 before you can apply for permanent accommodation from the Housing Executive. If you are between 16 and 18 you can apply if:

• you are leaving care
• you have dependent children
• you are pregnant
• you are married
• you need the accommodation to take up training, education or a job offer

Local connection

Even if you meet the age requirement you (or a member of you household) must have a substantial local connection. For example:

• you are living in Northern Ireland
• you have lived in Northern Ireland in the past
• you have a job in Northern Ireland
• you are looking for a job in Northern Ireland

You may be able to show that you have a substantial connection with Northern Ireland for other special reasons. For example, you need to live in Northern Ireland for family support or educational reasons.

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Homeless applicants

You are entitled to apply for housing if the Housing Executive decides that you are homeless and can get accommodation as a Full Duty Applicant. You do not have to meet the age and local connection requirements if you are a Full Duty Applicant. You will be given Full Duty Applicant status if the Housing Executive decides that you are:

• homeless
• eligible for assistance
• in priority need
• not intentionally homeless

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HOMES applicants

Council tenants and tenants of housing associations in England, Scotland and Wales can apply using the Housing Organisations Mobility and Exchange Services scheme (HOMES). You are allowed to apply if you are moving to Northern Ireland

• to take up a job or
• for social reasons

You can also apply for accommodation in Northern Ireland using the Homeswaps scheme. You do not need to have an important reason for wanting to live in Northern Ireland. However, you will need to find someone in Northern Ireland willing to swap their home with you.

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People from abroad

If you live in Northern Ireland and have a British or Irish passport you should be allowed to apply for permanent accommodation. If you require permission to enter and leave the UK you will probably not be allowed to apply for permanent accommodation. Non-European Union citizens are usually not allowed to apply for permanent accommodation.

If you are working in the UK and come from an European Union country you should be eligible for assistance under European law.

People seeking asylum

If you have arrived after April 2000 you will probably not be eligible for assistance from the Housing Executive. If you are in this situation you should get advice from the Law Centre (NI) or Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic minorities (NICEM) as soon as possible.

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People found guilty of unacceptable behaviour

You will not be allowed to apply for permanent accommodation if the Housing Executive decides that you have been guilty of unacceptable behaviour at the time of your application. You can be refused if the unacceptable behaviour was:

• carried out by you
• carried out by a member of your household, or
• carried out by a visitor to your property

Examples of unacceptable behaviour include:

• causing serious nuisance to your neighbours
• using the property for illegal purposes
• using the property for immoral purposes
• allowing the property to deteriorate

You can only be refused help if the unacceptable behaviour is so serious that the Housing Executive would be able to evict you if you were a tenant.

Get advice from Housing Rights Service or Shelter if you have been told that you can't apply for permanent accommodation in Northern Ireland.