Lisburn father feels 'trapped' as 33,000 people in 'housing stress' in Northern Ireland

By Eden Wilson and Jordan Moore

A Lisburn father who has severe epilepsy has told UTV he feels 'trapped' in his third-storey flat, which is damp and mouldy.

Oliver Jamison has fallen down the stairs which lead to his social housing a number of times.

He says it's not safe and is concerned the damp and mould returning this winter as it does every year.

"You're waking up in the middle of the night and the bed is wet and it's just an experience I've never had," said Oliver.

Oliver says he feels totally trapped, adding: "It is a scary thing that some nights I can't even go to my own bedroom and sleep because the damp is so bad and the dehumidifier 24 hours a day, the heater 24 hours a day in the bedroom trying to get some help with it.

"I couldn't think of anything else to try because no matter how much help I've asked for it wasn't given."

The Housing Executive has tried to find Oliver a ground-floor flat or bungalow for a year now but the demand is too high.

Another huge problem is, there is not enough new social housing being built to supply that demand.

Figures obtained exclusively by UTV News reveal that nearly 24,000 social homes are required over the next five years in Northern Ireland to meet the current demand.

Figures show only 1,449 social homes were finished in the last financial year.

Only nine houses have been built in Fermanagh and Omagh Council since 2021.

That's despite almost 33,000 people being in 'housing stress' .

Oliver says his epilepsy and brain injury make walking difficult and he has fallen down the stairs outside his flat twice.

He said: "The main concern with me now is the stairs outside.

"On four flights of stairs outside, three weeks ago I fell down one of them... and then last week I almost fell again but my hands grabbed the railing and stopped that."

Mr Jamison says the Housing Executive has been unable to offer him but he doesn't blame the staff.

He stressed: "I do not blame the staff who I talk to regularly, they are very polite and very nice so I don't blame any of them, it is just the system unfortunately."

Although Oliver does not blame the Housing Executive, it is clear there is a huge-scale shortage of social housing.

In a statement, the Housing Executive in Northern Ireland said: “We have acknowledged that current funding difficulties will exacerbate the already difficult position of providingsufficient numbers of suitable, new homes across Northern Ireland to meet increasing demand.

“This means people will be waiting longer than we would want to be provided with homes suitable to their needs.

”We are hopeful we can provide suitable accommodation for this tenant soon.

“We have been in regular contact with the tenant following his recent health issues and we will continue to provide advice and guidance in the weeks ahead.”

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