A local authority says it’s launching a scheme to work with private landlords to help reduce homelessness.

The Mansfield council scheme will support people registered as homeless and living in temporary accommodation by funding rental deposits and first advanced rent payment to private landlords.

The council is also working with a private company, RentGuarantor, which offers an insurance-backed service, paid for by tenants. The council suggests this will provide extra security for landlords for rent and legal proceedings should a tenant fall into arrears.

In addition, the council will contact all tenants, in accommodation secured via the Private Rented Access Scheme, three times in the first six months of their tenancy. A statement says: “This will be to make sure they are managing their tenancy and to encourage direct rent payments to their landlord.”

The Private Access Scheme is being funding by £187,681.44 from the government-funded Homelessness and Prevention Grant. 

The council says there’s been a significant increase in the past three years in the demand for temporary accommodation and social housing for homeless people in need, which has caused the council to have to use bed and breakfast accommodation more frequently.

Under the scheme, the private landlord rents their property directly to the applicant and a tenancy would be between the landlord and applicant.

All of the properties in the scheme would need to be checked by the council to ensure they are safe, secure and suitable, to ensure the maximum chance of a tenancy succeeding.

In Mansfield district there are currently 38 households in interim accommodation waiting for permanent homes. There are currently 4,598 on the housing waiting list with 173 being in Band One – the highest priority.

The Private Rented Access Scheme will be run as a pilot project for a year with the option to extend if it is successful.

A local authority spokesperson says: “Private landlords are often unwilling to let to people and families who are homeless, and many people are homeless and on our waiting list because they simply cannot raise the amount needed to pay a deposit for a privately rented property.

“Many also struggle to pay the first rent in advance because of the way Universal Credit pays benefits in arrears.

“What the Private Rented Access Scheme will do is enable us to work with landlords and create successful, long-term tenancies. The kind of homeless people we want to help ranges from single people to families.

“Ideally we would like more council homes to be built and made available to people on our list but it takes time to build new houses and these people need homes now, not years down the line.

“This scheme is not suitable for every homeless person or household we have on our list but if private landlords sign up to the scheme, it should help a good proportion and assist us in bringing down the number of people waiting for a council home.”