Using the Private Rented Sector

successfully to house single

homeless people

About us

• Crisis is the English national charity for single

homeless people. We are dedicated to

ending homelessness by delivering life-

changing services and campaigning for

change.

• Crisis is the national lead in England &

Scotland on using the private rented sector

as a housing option for homeless people.

Our private renting credentials

• Crisis’ private renting work focuses on private rented

sector access schemes - which work with both

landlords and tenants to establish and sustain

private tenancies.

• Since 1997 we have specialised in advice and

support on developing work on private renting. We

have worked with local authorities and charities, we

set up the National Private Renting Advisory Service,

SmartMove and other initiatives.

Sustain

Sustain is a 3 year longitudinal study following homeless households placed

in the PRS, carried out by Crisis and Shelter and funded by the Big Lottery

• People wanted their PRS property to be a ‘home’

• Conditions were a problem across the board

• Landlord behaviour was generally poor

• People found being moved away from their home area disruptive

• Many participants struggled with household costs and debt

• Support was often not available after they had moved into the tenancy

Read more: www.crisis.org.uk/pages/sustain

The Whitechapel Centre

Rob Farnos

Accessing the Private Rented Sector

What we are about

• A major homeless charity in the Liverpool region

• Work with people who are homeless, sleeping rough, living in hostels or struggling to manage their accommodation

• Provide a range of services including – Homeless Hub; Outreach; Resettlement Support; Family Centre; Peer Mentoring; Enablement Services; Private Renting

Housing Market in Liverpool & Merseyside

• Large private rented sector, reasonable supply within LHA rates, property condition issues

• Large social housing sector but shortage of one beds

• Significant homelessness issue but modest tally from rough sleeping counts

• More challenging PRS supply and affordability outside Liverpool

PRS Bond Scheme

• Clients – Single Homeless or Rough Sleeping in Liverpool & Merseyside

• Referrals from HOS & other agencies

• Cashless bond in lieu of a deposit

• Support for 6 months or longer

Outcomes

• 114 people into accommodation last year

• 93% sustained tenancy

• £3.5k paid out in bond claims of £42.7k

committed

Keys to Success

• LHA payment direct to landlord

• Person centred support

• Named Whitechapel worker for landlord

• Keeping good relationship with landlords

Challenges

• Managing demand/ responding to need

• Sourcing affordable properties – in some

areas

• Client expectations

• Benefits & sanctions

Case Studies

• Andy

• Denise

• Jim

Andrew Beeput

Chief Officer

Introduction

• Context and background of the Bond Board

• Brief overview of our services

• Ten ways we improve our outcomes and outputs for all our stakeholders

• A homelessness charity that specialises in providing services to vulnerable tenants living in or trying to access the private rented sector.

• We have been delivering PRS services for the last 22 years.

• We are based in Greater Manchester and primarily deliver our services in Bolton and Rochdale.

• We have been a Crisis Good Practice Champion twice, in 2013 and 2015.

The Bond Board provides a range of services to private rented tenants and landlords - these include: Bond Guarantee Schemes, a Social Letting Agency, a PRS floating support service, Pre –tenancy/ Quids In workshops and “Frequent Flyers” project.

Criteria for our Bond Guarantee or Letting Out

• Single people, couples and families 18+ who are on a low income, homeless, or in unaffordable accommodation.

• We do require that people can demonstrate the skills to manage a tenancy or willingness to access support.

PRS Bond Scheme in Numbers in Rochdale and Bolton 2014/15

• 697 households with a Bond

• 434 households in accommodation after 12 months

• 296 new tenancies created

79 families and 217 singles & couples

• £148,378 committed in Bonds

• 21% claim rate

This is a housing management scheme , part of which is aimed at offering shared housing to those aged under 35 and on a low income.

• No forced matching and only two people sharing • 70 properties in management • Currently 36 people sharing

Ten things that we do to improve our outcomes and outputs for all

of our stakeholders

1. Partnerships

2. Looking for opportunities in the challenges, to create new

solutions.

3. Innovations

4. Taking the long view

5. Demonstrating empathy and support for tenants and landlords

6. Managing and sharing the risks

7. Responsive, flexible and reflective services

8. Adapting to the local market

9. Experienced, knowledgeable and engaged staff teams

10. Diverse funding sources

Any questions ?

www.thebondboard.org.uk

abeeput@thebondboard.org.uk

Services for landlords and clients

Why pre-tenancy training?

•Managing clients' expectations

•Prevention of repeat homelessness

•More likely problems can be resolved before eviction is necessary

•Landlords feel reassured they are getting good tenant

•Tenants feel empowered and confident to deal with issues themselves

•Tenants will gain skills to manage better on a low income

Renting Ready: •Housing Options: Understanding how it all works - rights and responsibilities •Getting ready to move: what are landlords looking for, what do I need to consider? •Money Matters: budgeting, understanding financial liabilities/credit/financial products •Making the money go further: cooking on a budget, getting free stuff •Making a house a home: basic DIY, furnishings, when to ask the landlord •Finding and living with flatmates: flatmate types, how to prevent and deal with common problems

Make sure clients understand it, attendance is not enough!

The Sharing Solutions Programme

• 8 schemes

• Aim - Create replicable

models and sustainable

tenancies

• Learning and good

practice programme

• Supply and support

Support

• Training flats

• Peer mentors

• Lead tenants

• Non-resident parent households

• Pre-tenancy training

• Matching

Property conditions

• Private rented sector access schemes work hard to improve and

ensure decent standards of housing for the tenants they are

assisting

• Inspect all properties they use and have a minimum standard that

is acceptable

• Educate tenants and landlords on what is acceptable, helping

improve where possible or report poor standards where

necessary

• Derventio – Crisis Private Renting Champion 2015 on addressing

property conditions in the private rented sector

Health and wellbeing

• Ensure that where a client is being supported into the private

rented sector it is the right housing option for them

• A good assessment, pre-tenancy training, assistance with settling

in and ongoing links to support is important

• Housing can be a platform for maintaining or improving other

areas of a tenant’s life

• Porchlight - Crisis Private Renting Champion 2015 on health and

wellbeing

Supply

• Supply for our clients is not just about building new homes

• It’s also about accessing the right accommodation, bringing

rented properties into the LHA market and bringing empty/poor

quality homes into use

• Provide a good support service, be professional, link landlords

into training/grants, make the financial case to landlords

• Look at other areas – responsibly!

• Elmbridge Rentstart - Crisis Private Renting Champion 2015 on

innovative ways of improving supply.

Affordability

• Thorough assessments of clients’ financial situation and

improvement of their financial capabilities through pre-tenancy

training

• Provide bond guarantees or support clients to access cash for

rent in advance or deposits

• Ensure clients do not move into a property they cannot afford

• Support clients to save and access ethical financial products

• SHP - Crisis Private Renting Champion 2015 on Improving clients’

financial capability.

Private Renting Champions 2015

• Derventio (Derbyshire) - Addressing property conditions in the private

rented sector

• CABWHABAC (Worcestershire) & The Whitechapel Centre (Merseyside) -

Landlord and client support

• SHP (London) - Improving clients’ financial capability

• Porchlight (Kent) - Health and wellbeing

• Bond Board (Rochdale & Bolton) - Partnership working

• Elmbridge Rentstart (Surrey) - Innovative ways of improving supply

Contact and resources

• Online toolkits, guides and fact sheets

• Making it count

• Renting Ready

• Training and events

• London Practitioners’ Forum

• Find a scheme webpage

• http://www.crisis.org.uk/pages/crisis-private-renting.html

Contact the Crisis Housing Team at

• private.renting@crisis.org.uk

• 020 7426 5685

• @PrivateRenting