"This partnership continues to show the potential of the private sector to be part of the solution to homelessness"
- Paula Quigley - TDS Charitable Foundation
Almost 160 people have found safe and stable homes in the private rented sector during the first year of a partnership between homelessness charity Crisis and the TDS Charitable Foundation.
The three-year collaboration, launched in September last year, has been supported by the Charitable Foundation’s funding for five dedicated housing access specialists based in Merseyside, Newcastle, Oxford, Birmingham, and South Wales.
These specialists, employed by Crisis, work with landlords and letting agents to build trust, challenge misconceptions about renting to people at risk of homelessness, and provide ongoing support to help tenancies last. Their role includes assisting tenants with benefit claims and offering wellbeing support to reduce the likelihood of returning to homelessness.
One person who benefited is Chris, who faced release from prison without accommodation. Determined to rebuild his life and reconnect with his daughter, he worked with Jo, a Crisis housing access specialist, to secure a home.
“We would view properties together. Luckily enough, we’ve then viewed another flat, which was refurbished too. They offered it to me. Taking that private property has now led to a full-time job. I top up my rent but mostly it’s paid by the housing benefit,” said Chris.
Chris’s experience is one of many that highlight how access to the private rented sector can provide more than housing, it can offer stability and opportunity.
The TDS Charitable Foundation has also provided Crisis with £192,039 in direct funding to help people establish their homes, covering essential costs such as deposits and furniture.
Alongside practical support, the partnership has contributed to policy advocacy. Crisis and the Foundation have jointly called for housing benefit rates to be unfrozen, promoted the ‘My Housing Issue Gateway’—a tool created by the Foundation to improve tenant access to redress—and encouraged the UK Government to include rent data in the forthcoming national private rented property database to foster a fairer and more transparent rental market.
“As we look back on just one year of partnership with Crisis, it’s inspiring to see how many lives have already been transformed,” said Paula Quigley, chair of the TDS Charitable Foundation. “Access to safe, secure housing is the foundation for everything else, from finding work to rebuilding relationships and independence."
"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.”
“Our partnership with the TDS Charitable Foundation has shown what’s possible when we work together to unlock the potential of the private rented sector in ending homelessness,” said Juliet Mountford, executive director of client services at Crisis. “In just one year, nearly 160 people have been able to move into safe and stable homes which have allowed them to rebuild their lives with hope and dignity."
"This collaboration has also allowed us to connect with landlords in new ways, challenging the preconceptions which some people hold about landlords, and providing support which helps tenancies not only to begin, but to last. The commitment of TDS has not only transformed individual lives but helped us to demonstrate that housing-led approaches are the quickest and most effective way of ending homelessness for good. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together, and even more excited for what the next two years will bring.”
