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Rehousing in the Private Rented Sector
This briefing sets out good practice in making private rented sector housing available to homeless people. It includes good practice examples from local authorities and voluntary sector organisations, including Homeless Link members across the country.
The Issues
The two main difficulties homeless single people, couples and families face when trying to find a home to rent from a private sector landlord are financial impediments and the reluctance of landlords to let properties to homeless people because of negative stereotypes. For these reasons, homeless people and the agencies working with them do not always consider the private sector as a rehousing option.
Financial Barriers include high rents (often higher than Housing Benefit levels) and the requirement to pay bonds (also known as deposits) and/or rent in advance. Although not all homeless people are dependent on benefits, many are and landlords are often reluctant to take anyone in this position, particularly as delays can often lead to rent arrears. The Single Room Rent, which restricts the Housing Benefit entitlement of people under 25, is a particular problem.
Research
Homeless Link's move-on research highlighted the efforts made by homelessness agencies to help their clients access private sector housing and some of the difficulties they experienced. See the case studies in Section 6.
Settling in - research into the experiences of households helped into the Private Rented Sector through Local Authority direct letting schemes in West London from the West London Housing Partnership/LHUC Research Project (August 2007)
Research from the National Landlords Association, published in January 2006, suggested that only a minority of landlords (31%) are aware of schemes in their area to encourage them to rent to homleless people. It also suggested that a majority of landords who took part in such schemes experienced difficulties.
The Research also found that only 35% of landlords were willing to let to people getting Housing Benefit and of those who did, 78% reported greater problems than with other tenants.
How suitable is private accommodation for Homeless People?
Private rented accommodation will not always be appropriate for vulnerable homeless people. In evidence to the ODPM Select Committee's January 2005 report on Homelessness, Shelter reported that its "housing advisers are raising concerns about the approach to practice in some areas where, for example, vulnerable applicants are being pushed into private rented tenancies without support". However, for many people who are less vulnerable, private accommodation may be their best chance of moving out of a hostel.
Some Solutions
The move on plans protocol project (MOPP) is Homeless Link’s response to the national problem of move-on. It promotes a partnership approach to move-on between local authorities, statutory services, voluntary sector agencies and the private rented sector. Issue 2 of the MOPP project e-brief "MOPP Matters" covers the private rented sector. It includes good practice examples of building relationships with landlords and letting agents and further examples of many of the solutions below.
The London Housing Foundation (LHF) provides funding to support initiatives aimed at stimulating the private rented sector as a route out of, or preventing, single homelessness. Its starting point is that the sector has in recent years "providing a very limited resource for those tackling single homelessness". LHF currently funds two projects, the OSW Transitional Spaces Project and Broadway's Private Rented Sector Scheme. These projects are described below.
LHF's privaterentedsector website is dedicated to the role of the private rented sector in tackling homelessness.
The Department for Communities and Local Government's (DCLG) Homelessness Innovation Fund has made awards to a number or schemes that aim to improve the access of homeless people to the private rented sector. These schemes often include organisations acting as lettings agencies or providing rent in advance or deposits. Many put an emphasis on using empty residential property. The Empty Homes Agency is an independent campaigning charity that works to bring empty properties back into use. The DCLG has also circulated a paper Settled housing solutions in the private rented sector
Tackling Financial Barriers
Rent Deposit Schemes
There are numerous schemes across the country that provide people with deposits (also known as bonds). The Association of London Government's recent research into homelessness prevention initiatives in London found that rent deposit schemes were among the most successful initiatives. The National Rent Deposit Forum told the ODPM Select Committee that its members advised 60,000 people and housed 14,000 each year, using over 8,500 private landlords, and held over £2.75 million for bonds, cash deposits and rent in advance in 2001-02”. Unfortunately, the Forum closed at the end of April 2006.
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. It has taken over the delivery of many of the services previously provided by the NRDF. Tenants are offered ongoing support, including befriending support, and advice.
Schemes funded by the Homelessness Innovation Fund include rent in advance and/or deposit/bond schemes. Many local authorities already provide help with deposits/bonds, including supporting voluntary sector bond schemes.
Benefits Advice
Ensuring that people understand the benefits system, including the very complicated Housing Benefit rules, is central to helping unemployed homeless people and those on low incomes access private rented housing.
The government is currently piloting a new system called Local Housing Allowance (LHA), which it hopes will be simpler than Housing Benefit. However, LHA will still reduce the benefits available to people under 25. Read our briefing on LHA.
Tackling Worklessness
One scheme that seeks to challenge the assumption that homeless people will be out of work and dependent on benefits is the Transitional Spaces Project (TSP) led by Off the Streets and Into Work (OSW). The project aims to tackle endemic worklessness and inactivity in hostels and supported housing, provide a financial support package to help overcome the "benefits trap", and increase the use of private rented sector flats as move-on accommodation for people living in hostels and supported housing. The three year pilot will be launched this autumn. It is supported by the Treasury's "Invest to Save Budget" and is one of the schemes funded by the LHF.
Tackling Prejudice and providing Support
Some innovative projects seek to improve the image of homeless people with landlords and change the attitudes towards the private sector of homeless people and people working in the homelessness sector. Changing attitudes towards the private sector is one of the aims of Homeless Link's regional development work.
The universal use of assured shorthold tenancies in the private rented sector means that people have very limited security of tenure and mistakes and difficulties with rent can quickly lead to eviction. But there is much that agencies can do to help people who have been homeless maintain their tenancies.
Pre-Tenancy Training and Support
Broadway's It's your move resettlement project, which provides pre-tenancy training for homeless people, is expanding its scope to ensure that it is relevant for the growing numbers of people looking to the private sector for rehousing.
The Exeter Accredited Tenants Scheme (EATS) aims to teach people "the skills that are necessary to live independently and be a good tenant". It is open to anyone in the city but is particularly aimed at vulnerable tenants and those in need. At the end of a course, participants are given a certificate, which it is hoped will gain the trust and confidence of landlords.
The Supporting People programme means that support for formerly homeless people who have been rehoused in the private rented sector is available through floating support.
See Issue 2 of MOPP Matters for further examples of pre-tenancy training, tenant accreditation and support.
Do you run or know about a good voluntary sector scheme to make private sector housing more available to homeless people? If so please contact us.
Social Enterprise Lettings Agencies
The Private Rented Sector Scheme being developed by Broadway aim to create social enterprise businesses to act as letting agencies, to make private rented accommodation available to homeless people. This is one of the schemes being funded by LHF.
See Issue 2 of MOPP Matters for further examples.