The private rented sector (PRS) has helped almost 160 people find stable homes in its first year through a partnership between homelessness charity Crisis and the TDS Charitable Foundation.
The three-year partnership, which began last September, funded five housing access specialists in Merseyside, Newcastle, Oxford, Birmingham, and South Wales.
These specialists, employed by Crisis, worked locally with landlords and letting agents, challenging myths about renting to people at risk of homelessness and supporting tenants with benefits and wellbeing.
The TDS Charitable Foundation gave Crisis £192,039 to cover essentials like deposits and furniture for people setting up home.
Crisis and the foundation also pushed for changes in policy, including campaigns to unfreeze housing benefit rates, raise awareness of the ‘My Housing Issue Gateway’, and call for key rent data in the planned national private rented property database.
Paula Quigley, chair of the TDS Charitable Foundation, said: “As we look back on just one year of partnership with Crisis, it’s inspiring to see how many lives have already been transformed.
“Access to safe, secure housing is the foundation for everything else, from finding work to rebuilding relationships and independence.
“This partnership continues to show the potential of the private sector to be part of the solution to homelessness.”
Quigley added: “By working hand in hand with landlords, letting agents and local communities, we can make a real and lasting difference.
“We urge the UK Government to build on this momentum through its homelessness strategy, ensuring the right policies and support are in place to scale up what our partnership has shown to work and create lasting change.”
Juliet Mountford, executive director of client services at Crisis, said: “Our partnership with the TDS Charitable Foundation has shown what’s possible when we work together to unlock the potential of the private rented sector in ending homelessness.
“In just one year, nearly 160 people have been able to move into safe and stable homes which have allowed them to rebuild their lives with hope and dignity.
“This collaboration has also allowed us to connect with landlords in new ways, challenging the preconceptions which some people hold about landlords, and providing support which helps tenancies not only to begin, but to last.”
Mountford added: “The commitment of TDS has not only transformed individual lives but helped us to demonstrate that housing-led approaches are the quickest and most effective way of ending homelessness for good.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together – and even more excited for what the next two years will bring.”
