Some homeless people are forced to sleep rough
Almost 13,000 people were homeless last year - more than twice the figure in England - according to a review carried out by the Housing Executive.
The executive has said that if the problem is to be tackled, then the current system has to be overhauled.
Paddy McIntyre, chief executive of the Housing Executive, said 1.1% of the province's households are accepted as homeless compared to 0.5% in England.
Last year, a total of 12,694 people presented themselves as homeless to the Housing Executive, with almost 10,000 being accepted.
"The legislation is wider in Northern Ireland so we would expect more people to present themselves as homeless," he told the Social Development Committee at Stormont on Thursday.
Mr McIntyre presented a recent review carried out by the Housing Executive and said much more needed to be done to tackle the issue.
He said there was a major problem of people living in temporary accommodation who had "become institutionalised".
Legislation
These people would have to be moved to new purpose-built permanent units, he said.
As part of its district housing plans, the executive would be devising a strategy of prevention, he added.
It is also aiming to reduce reliance on B&B accommodation by half and build 250 new temporary accommodation units.
Last week, representatives of the homeless charity, Shelter, called for a major building programme of public sector housing to tackle the rising levels.
Ulster Unionist Sir John Gorman said there was an urgent need for a supply of affordable housing.
Mr McIntyre agreed but added it was all down to funding.
"The supply of new housing here needs to be increased particularly in hotspots where there isn't a sufficient supply of properties," he said.