Northern Ireland Executive

Following the recent heavy rainfall, there is an emergency scheme for householders affected by related flooding. Individual householders who have suffered severe inconvenience can claim a £1,000 payment from their local council.

Contact your local council

If you feel that you may be entitled to the payment, contact your local council as soon as possible.

Your local council will arrange for an urgent inspection of your property. If the council decides that your claim is eligible, you will receive your payment promptly.

You can find contact details for all local councils on the page below:

The payment is an offer of practical help to those who have suffered severe inconvenience, to make sure homes are made habitable as quickly as possible. It is not a compensation payment.

You can also find useful information about making an insurance claim at this link:

People are also asked to keep an eye out for elderly and vulnerable neighbours and check that they are ok.

More useful links

Share this page

read more

People are being reminded to protect themselves against the risk of tick bites. Ticks can carry Lyme disease which may be transmitted to humans through their bite. There are no vaccines to defend against tick-borne disease in the UK and Ireland. Theref… read more

Students are reminded of the laws in place to protect them as they look for accommodation ahead of the new academic year. It is important for students to be aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Private landlords

Most students will rent accommodation from private landlords and most private landlords comply with the law. 

All private landlords are required to register on the Landlord Registration Scheme.

Students can check at the following link if a landlord is on the register:

A landlord who does not register may face a fixed penalty of £500 or a court fine of up to £2,500. 

Deposits

Landlords normally ask for a deposit. That deposit is now protected under a scheme which ensures that if you’re entitled to get it back, you can be assured that this will happen.

Landlords must, within 28 days of receiving the deposit, notify the tenant of how the deposit has been protected. 

If, after 28 days of handing over the deposit, the tenant hasn’t received information about how it has been protected, they should report this immediately to the local council’s environmental health department.

A landlord who does not protect a tenant’s deposit may face a fixed penalty of three times the amount of the deposit or a court fine of up to £20,000.

You can find out more about the scheme at this link:

The pages below should also be useful:

Problems with your landlord

If you have any problems with your landlord, the following links have advice:

Sharing a house

You may be thinking of sharing a house with a few friends, or perhaps you’re moving into accommodation with people you don’t know. There are hints and tips on these pages:

Leaving a property

Before leaving a property which you have been renting there are a number of things you should do to make it go smoothly:

• contact service suppliers (like electricity, gas) to advise that you are leaving
• record any meter readings, if possible along with the landlord
• arrange for mail to be redirected
• clean the property
• contact the landlord to arrange for an inspection and return of your deposit
• secure the property when leaving
• return all sets of keys

More useful links

Share this page

read more

The A and AS-Level results are out and guidance and advice is available to you on your next steps. Even if you didn’t get the grades you were expecting, all is not lost. While it may appear that a door has been closed, other doors are now open. What ne… read more

For thousands of students the waiting is nearly over. This year, AS/A Levels results will be published on Thursday 17 August and GCSE results on Thursday 24 August. Once you get your results you may have important decisions to make, and you can get guidance and advice from the Careers Service.

Contacting a careers adviser

Whether or not you get the grades you are expecting, it’s important to make an informed choice once you have your results.   

The Careers Service has a team of professionally-qualified careers advisers who offer impartial careers information, advice and guidance to people of all ages.

To contact a careers adviser you can:

Careers Service advisers will be available from 9.00 am to 7.30 pm to provide support to students and their parents on:

• Thursday 17 and Friday 18 August for A-Level students 
• Thursday 24and Friday 25 August for GCSE students

Online information

To help you explore your options, there is also lots of useful information available on nidirect, including articles on:

To find out more, please go to the following page:

More useful links

Share this page

read more