NI social housing residents make up 55% of survey respondents who went without heating or electricity in past two years

The research also showed that continued pressure on household budgets has led to a rise in harmful coping strategies. 

A quarter of households reported going to bed earlier to avoid sitting in a cold home. A similar amount sit in a cold house wearing coats, blankets or use a hot water bottle, while 21% have reduced their use of hot water. 

Others are using alternative heating sources such as fan heaters, using credit cards to pay for heating or other essentials, or skipping meals.

In addition, 43% of respondents said their home has been impacted by damp and mould. 

Pat Austin, director of NEA, said: “This is the fourth consecutive year that we have commissioned the polling and, very worryingly, nothing much has changed for many of households who are struggling day and daily just to make ends meet.

“Now in the mouth of winter, households here still await a new and reinvigorated fuel poverty strategy, which must now be delivered as soon as possible.

“The strategy needs to have clear targets and milestones, and needs to be supported with adequate funding otherwise we can expect the same outcome next year. Living in a cold home is extremely bad for health and well-being, and as a society we need to say, ‘Enough is enough’ and produce the strategies needed to tackle the issues head on. Let this be our decade of delivery for NI [Northern Ireland].”

The charity is calling on the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to deliver a new sufficiently resourced fuel poverty strategy, as well as introduce minimum energy efficiency standards and a social energy tariff to provide discounted, targeted energy bill support to low-income and vulnerable households.

The Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations said: “[This] briefing wasn’t just about stats – it was about lived experience and about the need for co-ordinated action on affordability, retrofit and energy justice.”