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August 2014 |
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Recovery Festival 2014 |
Housing
to welcome the people that had come through this
particular route into our homes.’
His attitude had been changed through a ‘proper
partnership’ with the BAC O’Connor, which involved
intensive pre-tenancy work.
‘We understand the person and what their needs
are,’ he said. ‘We give them just the right amount of
support to sustain their tenancy and support them
into the community.’ This support extended beyond
housing to mobility, mental health, addiction – ‘the
whole gamut of problems’. And progress had been
encouraging: ‘people we house through BAC have a
far greater rate of successful tenancies,’ he said, which
made a strong case for housing authorities homing
people who had come through the recovery route.
People needed three basic things, he said: a decent
home in the right area, continued support including a
network of family and friends, and something decent
and permanent to do.
*****
Susan Fallis, director of Real Lettings, shared an
innovative scheme from St Mungo’s Broadway, which
helped homeless people to move into the private
rented sector while reducing the risks for landlords. It
was a simple model, with SMB leasing the property
for three to five years, maintaining it, and effectively
becoming the tenant.
The short tenancies were ‘no hassle to landlords as
they know they’ll get the rent’ and a sustainable
business model for SMB. Landlords were charged 17.5
per cent of the local housing allowance as a
management charge, which paid for the cost of
managing and maintaining the property.
There was a tight arrears procedure, with tenants
being contacted as soon as they missed one payment,
but the links with support services meant it was all
about tenant sustainment, further enhanced by helping
them to gain skills for employment and volunteering.
But things had changed over the last two years as
‘property procurement became a nightmare’. The
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) had been capped at 1
per cent, deterring landlords who were relying on a
rent increase. The solution was to get people to invest
in properties, for an anticipated 20 per cent return.
SMB found a fund manager, the Real Lettings
Property Fund, a private rented sector investment
fund delivering commercial returns. It was the first
property fund in the UK to buy accommodation to
support homeless people, and ‘it was not just about
the rent to them, it was a true partnership,’ said Fallis.
The aim was to get £45m investment to purchase
at least 240 one and two-bed homes in London, near
to public transport and amenities. With The Esmée
Fairbairn Foundation as the first investor, others were
following.
All of this showed what a small social enterprise
could achieve in this sector, opening the doorway to
procuring large numbers of private rented properties,
said Amy Webb, SMB’s Real Lettings manager. This
model represented a bridge between the private
rental model and services, she said.
While the private rented model was a viable
option for vulnerable people, it was essential to have
the right kind of support available so they could
sustain their tenancies.
‘We’re not support workers, we’re a landlord – but
we can create a system where we can provide
practical advice and support around how that person
is performing in their tenancy,’ she said.
Part of the support entailed taking risk. Rules had
been changed so that the tenant could be evicted
after 12 months rather than just six, and they no
longer had 20-page assessment forms. Instead, the
tenant needed to commit to having ‘milestones of
engagement’ in a very proactive style of rent
management. Rent officers aimed not to ‘harangue’,
but opened doors to sources of advice.
‘We really want people to be able to move on,’ said
Webb. ‘Real Lettings isn’t the end of the road – it’s a
chance to prove you can develop a rent history and
hold down a tenancy.’
*****
The long association between the worlds of
homelessness and recovery meant there were many
opportunities
for
organisations
to
work
collaboratively together, said Thames Reach chief
executive Jeremy Swain.
Dealing with a ‘homelessness backlog’, created by
the housing shortage, required creative solutions.
Thames Reach’s solutions included a shared housing
model with an employment focus, which was
supported by social investors. Three people lived in a
shared house, with one of the residents given a special
role as peer landlord, offering support to others on
issues around housing and employment and ‘making
shared housing into something beneficial’, according
to Swain. With the money from investors, the housing
could be offered at below-market rent.
Other housing schemes were creating ‘a realistic
package of support’, such as Thames Reach’s
partnership with the local authority in Greenwich, CRI
and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation.
Another partnership with Vision Housing was
enabling Thames Reach to refer rough sleepers into
self-contained accommodation, an initiative funded
by a social impact bond.
Swain also outlined the benefits of the Housing
First model, accepted in the US as the best way of
helping people off the street. Unlike many of the
housing schemes this model relied on harm reduction
rather than the requirement of abstinence, but
achieved positive outcomes through linking with
‘People we house
through BAC have
a far greater rate
of successful
tenancies.’
RON DOUGAN
‘We really want
people to be able
to move on...‘
AMY WEBB
‘Short tenancies...
no hassle to land-
lords as they know
they’ll get the rent’
SUSAN FALLIS
‘Thames Reach’s
solutions include a
shared housing
model with an
employment focus.’
JEREMY SWAIN