Category

• Fully Validated Effective Local Practice

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Poverty impact

• Prevention
• Mitigation

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Poverty driver

• Provide benefit in-kind (material)
• Increase employment income

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Keywords

• Private rented sector
• Families
• Financial Insecurity
• Homelessness
• Housing Insecurity

Aim

To support families living in the private rented sector in Glasgow affected by the benefit cap to sustain their tenancy or move to a more sustainable housing option.

Summary

The Private Rented Sector Housing and Welfare Team (PRS Support Hub) works in the City of Glasgow to prevent homelessness and to address child poverty by providing a holistic support service that helps families sustain their PRS tenancies. Taking a proactive Housing Options approach, the service combines financial and housing services to ensure families who are referred to them for being at risk of losing their PRS tenancy are either able to continue their tenancy or move to a more sustainable housing option. The service is unique and provided by the Glasgow City Council in co-operation with partners.

What difference does it make?

The PRS Hub has provided a unique, person-centred holistic service in a sector previously not addressed, and achieved extremely high tenancy retention and homelessness prevention rates. In addition to this the service has been able to generate additional income (excluding housing costs) for the families referred to them having a long-term impact for the family and participating in the prevention of homelessness and mitigation of poverty in the city.

Organisations

Housing and Regeneration Services, Glasgow City Council

Location

Glasgow City Council area

Key take-aways

• There is a high need and demand for a tenant support service in the Private Rented Sector
• A holistic and person-centred (as opposed to property-centred) approach to addressing housing insecurity can create lasting positive impacts for the families involved as it acknowledges the multi-dimensional nature of housing insecurity with one service.
• Establishing functioning external partnerships and tight collaboration with other units in the City Council are important to the success of the service. This ensures not only that those in need of support are aware of and can access the referral led PRS Hub, but also that the support provided is holistic and has lasting impacts.

 

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