The Strangford MLA was speaking after a new inquiry by Stormont’s Public Accounts Committee recommended that the scheme be amended to help increase housing stock and ease the growing rate of homelessness across Northern Ireland.

Ms Armstrong said: “The number of homeless families on the social housing waiting list has skyrocketed by over 10,000 during the last 5 years, and this has devastating consequences for people’s quality of life and wellbeing, including a significant number of children. 

“There is no statutory duty to prevent homelessness, therefore investment into sustaining tenancies through the Supporting People programme has not increased to meet need. That has to change if we are to address the homelessness crisis.

“Inadequate housing stock is a major reason for the increased number of people who are homeless across NI, and for the Housing Executive to continue selling off hundreds of its homes each year in this context is utter madness.

“Everyone should have a meaningful chance to own their own home, but it is also plainly obvious that it is unsustainable for NIHE, a social home provider, to be depleting the limited stock it does have when the result is more and more people languishing in temporary accommodation, on housing waiting lists, experiencing homelessness or forced into private rental accommodation that they can’t afford.

“Last year, Alliance called for a freeze on new applications to the Right to Buy Scheme and we would reiterate that call today. There needs to be an urgent pause on the selling of this stock until such time as Northern Ireland’s social housing environment is on a much more stable footing. The Minister has the power to take this decisive action and it is critical that he does so without delay.”