Sinn Féin MLA Fra McCann said an urgent review needs to take place into additional charges being levied by housing associations.

The Sinn Féin housing spokesperson was speaking in light of media revelations that an elderly man, without electric or gas, was charged over £500 for a damaged door when the fire service had to break the door down after he took seriously ill.

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He said: "Housing association rents are considerably higher than that charged by the Housing Executive.

"These hidden charges, as in this case, are an added burden on people who find that many repairs are being directly deducted from benefit.

"I have raised this issue with the minister's office and will be pursuing a break down of these costs. We also need to know what checks are made to ensure this deduction is not at the cost of people being unable to heat their home or feed themselves."

(CD/JP)