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The Private Rented Sector
These pages contain information and resources on private sector housing. This includes issues around using the private sector to rehouse homeless people and issues in the sector that may lead to homelessness.
What's New?
- Local Housing Allowance is a new way of paying housing benefit to private tenants. It will be introduced nationally on 7 April 2008.
- The London Housing Foundation has launched a new website privaterentedsector, dedicated to promoting private sector housing as a positive housing solution for single homeless people.
The Issues
The private rented sector has a reputation for being hard for homeless people - expecially the majority who are on benefits - to access. It is also an insecure form of housing, with assured shorthold tenancies lasting as little as six months. But with permanent social housing a scarce resource, agencies working with single and non priority homeless people in particular are increasingly having to look to the private sector for move-on opportunities.
Deposits and Bonds
A coalition of agencies including the British Property Federation has launched a campaign to abolish the Single Room Rent, which limits the housing benefit payable to people under 25.
The need to give landlords a security deposit or bond, which is likely to be hundreds of pounds, often causes difficulties for tenants and potential tenants, including homeless people. Many people have difficulty raising the money in the first place. Rent deposit and bond schemes are one way of addressing this.
All deposits taken by landlords for Assured Shorthold Tenancies in England and Wales (this covers the vast majority of tenancies), must be protected by a tenancy deposit protection scheme.
Move-on in the private rented sector
The move on plans protocol project (MOPP) is Homeless Link’s response to the national problem of move-on. Issue 2 of the MOPP project e-brief "MOPP Matters" covers the private rented sector.
See our briefing on Rehousing in the private rented sector.
Resources
- Shelter's Housing Act website highlights the changes to the private rented sector under the Housing Act 2004.
- Crisis SmartMove is a nationwide programme enabling people who are homeless or vulnerably housed access to homes in the private rented sector by offering landlords a guarantee in place of a cash deposit.