4 SOCIAL LANDLORDS
How we help social housing providers
2 Way Tenancy Solutions have a track record of helping vulnerable tenants in crisis, has disengaged with their landlord for a number of reasons and have fallen behind or stopped paying rent.
Every tenant has a different reason for not engaging with their landlord and we realise support mechanisms are in place. However, as an independent organisation, we offer a tailored approach to help resolve the crisis by tackling the problems they face.
Our past provision has been successful and with social housing providers such as The Gateshead Housing Company, Home Group and South Tyneside Homes. We have developed a range of solutions having worked with hundreds of tenants from various social landlords with the aim of enabling tenants to develop skills, confidence and knowledge in financial capability, raising awareness on tenancy rights and building personal confidence in life and employment skills, preventing homelessness and building community cohesion.
Our services include:
2 Way Tenancy 10 Session Financial Capability Programme:
Following referral, our service will provide an initial needs and risk assessment with each tenant. We will then provide a programme, bespoke to the tenant, prioritising what needs to be tackled first. The programme prioritises the tenants need and provides several ways to help the tenant manage their own finance; reduce rent arrears or avoid eviction; understand budgeting and benefits etc.
2 Way Tenancy Financial Capability/Managing money Workshops:
Establish quarterly community-based workshops for new and existing tenants of social housing providers to inform them of welfare change (including Universal Credit), preventing eviction and establishing payment methods and understanding financial capability. This is a potential preventative measure and assists tenants in gaining an understanding of managing finance and ensuring payment of rent.
2 Way Tenancy 3 Session Homeless Prevention Intervention:
Following referral, our service will provide an initial needs and risk assessment with each tenant. We will then provide an intensive programme, bespoke to the tenant, prioritising 3 key areas; rent arrears, eviction and payment plan. This is essentially for tenants that need quick, prompt support to understand the situation and be given an opportunity to make responsive steps to avoid eviction and ensure suitable payments are made to clear rent arrears.
2 Way Tenancy Pre-Tenancy Skills Workshops:
Deliver workshops to potential and existing tenants who are looking to set up a new home. For those already in tenancies – support them to maintain and sustain their tenancies. 2 Way Tenancy Solutions offer flexible solutions and the delivery methods above are adjusted to the tenants need, identified with an initial needs and risk assessment.
2 Way Tenancy Social Housing
How we can help social housing providers:
2 Way Tenancy Solutions has a track record in assisting social landlords and its tenants in avoiding evictions and re-paying rent arrears that is a suitable solution for all parties. We have helped social housing providers to:
Save money: 2 Way Tenancy Solutions have a track record in reducing tenancy evictions (homelessness), which can cost a housing provider up to £3000 for each eviction, reduce void costs and loss of rental income and reduce re-letting administration costs.
Support Social Housing Providers Management and Staff: 2 Way Tenancy Solutions provide an outsourced service that has a track record of engaging with tenants in a productive way and reducing homelessness. This takes the strain and stress of having to deal with tenants that are difficult to engage with to deal with rent arrears or eviction. We can help Social Housing providers to maintain their tenancy targets and customer satisfaction ratings.
Maintain social cohesion: 2 Way Tenancy Solutions, by providing solutions to tenants to reduce rent arrears and increasing financial capability, can assist in maintaining cohesive communities by reducing evictions. Evictions lead to empty stock, which can attract vandalism and anti-social behaviour; empty stock may also lead to hard to let areas and reduces regeneration and community cohesion. 2 Way Tenancy Solutions have a track record of engaging with those “threatened with homelessness” at crisis point and often engage with vulnerable members of the society such as care leavers, ex-service personnel, parents with children that feel threatened by social services intervention, those with drug and/or alcohol issues and those with mental health issues.
Homeless reduction: 2 Way Tenancy has developed a track record in homelessness reduction through their tenancy and financial capability programmes, with tenants who could have faced evictions seeing their tenancies converting from introductory to secure, starter tenancies to assured tenancies and those threatened with homelessness and/or being served Section 21 Notices keeping their tenancies and homes. With the introduction of the Homeless Reduction Act 2017, Local Housing Authorities are required to offer more support to tenants that are threatened with homelessness. 2 Way Tenancy Solutions can assist LHA by providing a crisis service to engage with tenants that are hard to reach.