Private Rented Sector (PRS) Programme

As with organisational strengthening, our private rented sector (PRS) programme included elements of both grant-making and direct support to build knowledge and capacity. This was a new stream of work in 2006/07 that was in preparation in the previous year.

We first promoted the opportunities for grants under our PRS programme during 2005/06, but the first grants were not awarded until May 2006. Whilst this represented a significant funding stream for our normal size of operation, it was always intended to involve only a small number of higher value grants. The aim was to support innovative initiatives that would contribute to making the private rented sector a more effective resource for single people vulnerable through homelessness.

In the event, four grants were awarded, with a total approved value of £210,901 for spending in the year:

• Off the Streets and into Work: £58,498 towards Transitional Spaces Project (TSP). This is a major ‘Invest to Save’ initiative that has over £2m of Treasury investment (alongside £459,736 from the Foundation over three years) to explore new ways of saving on long-term benefit payments and to provide employment and housing solutions to those who get stuck in the hostel system.
• Broadway Homelessness and Support: £108,000 towards the development of a pan-London social lettings agency to increase access to the private rented sector for single homeless people.
• Threshold Housing Advice: £22,650 to consolidate the systems and procedures of their managed accommodation project that provides access to the PRS for single homeless people.
• Crisis: £21,753 towards the development of an information base and good practice guide for rent deposit schemes across London.

This programme was established after a major review of the Foundation’s grant-making policy. Directors were aware of the silting up of hostels and other supported accommodation arising as a result of the inadequate supply of move-on accommodation – and also of the often negative attitudes of both former homeless people and private sector landlords to each other. This programme was established with a view to stimulating a major contribution towards increasing the effective use of the PRS for single homeless people within a three-year horizon.

The Board also approved a programme of knowledge building and dissemination to accompany the grants, to ensure that maximum influence is achieved from our own grant-making and also from the knowledge accumulated by the Foundation of other initiatives and good practice. This has also involved development of a specialist website: www.privaterentedsector.org.uk that brings together a vast array of learning, resources and contacts.