Landlords in the private rented sector don’t have the best reputation, but Carol Stewart finds out how social enterprise Homes for Good is reforming the sector in Glasgow to the benefit of landlords and tenants.
Susan Aktemel came up with the idea of setting up Scotland’s first social enterprise letting agency as a result of her own personal experience as a landlord.
“I couldn’t find a letting agency I liked. The private rental market is growing very fast and landlords have such a negative image – I felt the time was right for a different sort of agency.”
HFG “thinks social” in every aspect of its operations – staffing, suppliers, partners and support for tenants
Homes for Good (Scotland) CIC (HFG) is certainly different. When it opened for business in March 2013 it was a unique offering in the Scottish private rented sector – a letting agency run as a social enterprise, placing ethics, social change and tenants’ wellbeing at the centre of its business model, and on an equal footing with generating income. HFG “thinks social” in every aspect of its operations – staffing, suppliers, partners and support for tenants.
Susan explained: “We supply a high-quality service, matching properties with the right tenant, creating happy homes for tenants and sound investments for landlords. We also specialise in supporting vulnerable and young people to get a fresh start and access safe, secure homes they can flourish in.”
Around a quarter of HFG tenants are young working professionals wanting a quality home and needing little support. Others are highly vulnerable and face a host of complex challenges, such as domestic violence or mental health issues. Many have been living in unsuitable properties or stuck in a cycle of living with friends and family. HFG adopts a holistic, solutions-based approach to supporting tenants and fostering independence, including help with claiming financial benefits, encouraging financial management skills and signposting them to other services.
Marilyn, 36, Cambuslang
Marilyn has been living with her parents since she came back from travelling abroad. During this time at her parents, she became unwell due to diabetes. She spent a long spell in hospital and recuperating at home. Once she felt better, Marilyn knew it was time to move out and regain her independence. Marilyn required quite a bit of intensive support at the beginning of the tenancy. Homes 4 Good supported her with housing benefit forms, move-in advice, utilities support and attended the property on a weekly basis for the first three weeks of her tenancy. Marilyn has settled well and is now actively looking for employment.
HFG now has 245 properties on its books, with 75 landlords and 283 tenants, including 101 children. Over half (55%) of its tenants are unemployed with 52% receiving support from housing benefit to pay their rent. 26 properties are let to homeless people and a further 23 to asylum seekers via partner agencies.
The group has expanded to include two further companies. Homes for Good Investments Ltd buys and renovates properties which are then managed by its sister company. Tenants are on benefits or earning on or below the living wage and range from young people on low incomes setting up home for the first time to people moving from emergency homeless situations into temporary accommodation to young mums and their children.
HFG Property Care Ltd has also been set up to enable maintenance to be brought in-house, ensuring greater quality of property maintenance for landlords, and reduce the company’s reliance on external contractors. Any future profits will be ploughed back into supporting vulnerable people to get tenancies.
Stacie, 32, Renfrew
Stacie found a safe place to call home when she moved into a HFG property with her two children. She had fled an environment where she feared for her own and her children’s safety on a daily basis. At first she was given daily support to help her settle into her new home and overcome personal crisis. Within a short time Stacie became more independent with less need for intensive support. Stacie’s son had difficulties settling in to the local community, and HFG staff worked intensively with Stacie and local support agencies to diffuse tensions between her son and local young people. They have developed a sense of belonging in their new home and feel more positive about the future.
The HFG group is now preparing a move from its Glasgow city centre office to new bigger premises in Bridgeton next month complete with a Tenants Support Hub, with a planned programme of drop-in surgeries and activities delivered by partners including Scotcash and Landlord Accreditation Scotland. An interior designer has been recruited to the team to develop the new offices and work with tenants and landlords on improving their homes.
Most of the 13-strong HFG team were recruited through the Glasgow Guarantee and Community Jobs Scotland schemes. Susan says: “We recruit staff who fit our values and they all receive full on-the-job training. We have young graduates, people who were unemployed and parents returning to work, but what they all have in common is a commitment to our core belief that everyone should have a home they feel safe and happy in.”
Three-quarters of HFG properties are in Glasgow, with the remainder in neighbouring areas. The company has decided against expansion plans to other parts of Scotland.
Katherine, 41, Carntyne
Katherine was in remission from lung cancer when she relocated to one of Homes for Good’s properties with her two children. She was previously living in council housing and was wary of moving into the private rented sector. Katherine was also looking for a new start and to be closer to her large support network for her son who has autism. Being a single mother and a survivor of a domestic violence, Katherine required intense support and assistance with her finances. The tenancy support team helped her with her housing benefit application and the external funding for her children. Homes for Good Investments has provided support through frequent visits and conversations. With her children receiving more support in their new school and her cancer remaining in remission, she feels relieved, less stressed and “the happiest I’ve felt in years”.
Susan explains: “It makes sense operationally and logistically to concentrate on greater Glasgow, as there is more than enough market demand. However we are working on how we can replicate our model successfully in other parts of the UK by identifying partners who will sign up to our code of ethics. There will be no cost involved other than a few days of support from us annually. We are already working with one organisation in the north-east of England.”
HFG works with partner agencies including Ypeople, Glasgow’s Helping Heroes, Scotcash and the homelessness teams in local authorities including North Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire councils. It also recently started working with HMP Barlinnie to support offenders leaving the prison system. Potential tenants are interviewed before release, a property is identified followed by three months of intense post-release support to reintegrate the ex-offender into the local community, including sourcing work or volunteering placements.
HFG is also taking part in research by Glasgow Caledonian University to develop methods to evaluate new pathways to health creation and reducing health inequalities through social enterprise. The project aims to evaluate what works within the Homes for Good model and compare it with other approaches to supporting vulnerable tenants.
