The administration of homeless services is organised on a regional basis and as part of the funding arrangements in place, each region provides my Department with a quarterly performance report which includes details of the number of individuals exiting homelessness into an independent tenancy in that quarter.
The reports show that during 2018, 5,135 adults exited homelessness into an independent tenancy. The figure represents 4,225 households who exited into independent tenancies as follows: 642 local authority tenancies, 551 tenancies with an approved housing body, and 3,032 tenancies in the private rental sector.
The reports do not currently distinguish between households/individuals exiting emergency accommodation and those who have been assessed by housing authorities as homeless but were prevented from entering emergency accommodation. My Department is introducing amendments to the quarterly reports to capture additional details on exits to tenancies from emergency accommodation.