Welfare reform

Welfare Reform Research Group Terms of Reference

The role and responsibilities of the Welfare Reform Research Group are set out in this document.

Housing Executive Tenants and Universal Credit

This report provides an insight into the customer journey experienced by Housing Executive tenants claiming Universal Credit (UC), to understand and evaluate the role of the Housing Executive in this journey, to identify areas where more support might be needed for our tenants, and to inform planning, policy and process development for the future.

Potential Impacts of the Bedroom Tax in NI – Tenants in receipt of Welfare Supplementary Payment

Recognising that welfare reform is a fundamental change to the benefit system with the potential to have wide-ranging repercussions for tenants and landlords in both the social and private rented sectors, the Housing Executive has prioritised research in this area.

This report provides an insight into the potential impacts that Social Sector Size Criteria will have in Northern Ireland, if mitigation payments end as scheduled in March 2020. Findings will be used to inform further policy development and financial planning for the Housing Executive.

Impacts of the Social Sector Size Criteria – Tenants who have lost Welfare Supplementary Payment

In December 2018, the Housing Executive commissioned RF Associates to conduct research assessing the impact on tenants who had been affected by Social Sector Size Criteria and had lost Welfare Supplementary Payment. At the date at which this project commenced, it was estimated that around 100 Housing Executive households had lost Social Sector Size Criteria (SSSC) mitigation through changes in circumstances.

This qualitative research focused on the experiences of these households and how they had dealt with the impact of losing Welfare Supplementary Payment for under-occupation.

Download the reports

Welfare Reform Scoping Report

This report details the elements of Welfare Reform in Northern Ireland on a cross-tenure basis and provides an insight into the potential impacts in order to inform further policy development and financial planning for the Housing Executive.

Welfare Reform in Northern Ireland: A Scoping Report (PDF 1818 KB):


Tenant Perceptions, Awareness and Experiences of Welfare Reform, 2017

This report presents findings on tenants’ perceptions, awareness and experiences of Welfare Reform to date from two waves of quantitative research within the CTOS annual questionnaire. 


Northern Ireland Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMAs) Scoping Study

This report, commissioned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, presents the independent review and impact assessment of the Northern Ireland Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMAs) and Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates.

Tenant Perceptions, Awareness and Experiences of Welfare Reform, 2018

This report presents findings on tenants’ perceptions, awareness and experiences of Welfare Reform to date from two waves of quantitative research within the CTOS annual questionnaire.