Almost 160 people have secured homes in the private rented sector through a deal between homelessness charity Crisis and the TDS Charitable Foundation.

As part of the three-year partnership launched in September last year, the Charitable Foundation has funded a network of five dedicated Housing Access Specialists in Merseyside, Newcastle, Oxford, Birmingham, and South Wales.

These specialists, employed by Crisis, are local experts who build positive relationships with landlords and letting agents, challenge myths about renting to people at risk of homelessness, and ensure that tenants get the support they need to not only move in, but to stay in their homes long term. 

This can include supporting tenants to claim the benefits they are entitled to and ongoing wellbeing support to reduce the risk of people slipping back into homelessness.  

The TDS Charitable Foundation has also provided Crisis with £192,039 in direct funding to help people set up their home, covering essentials such as deposits and furniture.

The partnership also claims to have driven wider policy change. Together, Crisis and the Foundation have campaigned to unfreeze housing benefit rates; raise awareness of the ‘My Housing Issue Gateway’, designed by the Foundation to give tenants better access to redress when needed; and urged the UK Government to include key rent data in the planned national private rented property database, paving the way for a fairer, more transparent rental market.

Paula Quigley, chair of the TDS Charitable Foundation, says: “This partnership continues to show the potential of the private sector to be part of the solution to homelessness. 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.”