SOCIAL IMPACT REPORT 2020 - Ethical Lettings
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SOCIAL IMPACT REPORT 2020
OUR IMPACT
AT A GLANCE
APRIL 2018 - MARCH 2020
62%
of our tenants have been with
us for 12 months or longer
We currently manage
136
properties
of which
we own 53
Over
48%
of households have children
400
people currently live in
these properties
Last year,
38%
of our new lettings were to people
who were homeless. Over 80%
remain tenants with us
65% CONTENTS
of households are in receipt
of Housing Benefit 93%
of our tenants rate our service
Introduction.................................................................................................................. 4
Who we are and what we do..................................................................................... 5
as either excellent or good
Britain’s Housing Challenge....................................................................................... 6
328 We have
contributed almost
The Challenge on Teesside........................................................................................ 7
Our Impact.................................................................................................................... 8
100k
We made 328 home visits in the past
two years to support our tenants and How we help............................................................................................................... 10
provided free housing advice to 181 Looking ahead............................................................................................................ 14
non-tenants who were homeless or to the local economy by using local
at risk of homelessness trades and professional services A word from our Board............................................................................................. 16
2 3
INTRODUCTION WHO WE ARE
This is the first annual Impact Report of The Ethical Letting Agency C.I.C. (TELA) and OUR MISSION IS TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS OR IN HOUSING NEED FIND AND
The Ethical Housing Company Ltd (EHC). We hope it provides some interesting insight KEEP DECENT AND AFFORDABLE HOMES IN THE PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR ON TEESSIDE.
into the work we are doing to help people on Teesside.
We achieve this through two complementary models:
Our mission is to help people who are homeless or in housing need to find and keep
decent and affordable homes in the private rented sector on Teesside. Over 400 people THE ETHICAL LETTING AGENCY C.I.C. (TELA) THE ETHICAL HOUSING COMPANY (EHC)
currently live either in our own properties or in those we manage on behalf of others, and
about two-thirds of our tenants are in receipt of benefits to pay some/all their rent. Launched in 2015, TELA is a registered Community EHC was established in 2018 to purchase
Interest Company (a type of social enterprise) that properties that can be let and managed by TELA.
We believe that if people have stable housing (i.e. they can afford the rent and stay lets and manages rental property on behalf of By creating a portfolio of our own properties, we
there for longer, without having to worry about rogue landlords/agents), they can make private landlords. We focus on properties that allow can ensure a better supply of decent and affordable
progress in other parts of their lives, such as raising children safely, engaging with support us to give vulnerable people access to decent and homes in areas where there is a clear housing need.
workers to tackle addiction or mental health issues, or moving into education, training affordable homes in the private rented sector (PRS).
or employment. As such, tackling housing need doesn’t just benefit the individuals EHC is backed by Bridges Evergreen Holdings, a
concerned; it also benefits the wider community. TELA manages all EHC’s properties. pioneering investment vehicle that provides long-
term capital and operational support to impact-
Our community in Teesside faces some extraordinary challenges as a result of the driven organisations.
Covid-19 pandemic. The Bank of England has said that the economy could take years
to fully recover. Teesside, which already contained some of the most deprived places
in the country pre-Covid, is likely to be particularly hard-hit. How many people will be
left struggling to pay mortgages and rent once the Government support packages are
removed? How many people will be left with nowhere to live or in the clutches of slum
landlords?
We believe the demand for decent, affordable housing is only likely to grow in the next few
years. At TELA and EHC, we are determined to rise to this challenge and help more people
WHAT WE DO
on Teesside find one of the most important components of life: a home.
Carla
Carla Keegans TELA helps Landlords meet their legal obligations, • At any one time an average of 65%+ of our
Founding Director - TELA and EHC collect rent, and deal with all tenancy matters tenants will be in receipt of benefits to help pay
(including a value-for-money repairs service). their rent.
August 2020
As at March 2019, TELA managed 136 properties; 83 • Where people do get into arrears (often due to a
on behalf of private landlords and 53 owned by EHC. benefit system issue) we work quickly to mitigate
the situation and establish an affordable repayment
We also provide an intensive housing management plan, so tenants can keep their tenancy.
service to support tenants in their tenancy and
property. This includes: • As a result, we have carried out less than ten
evictions since TELA opened.
• During a tenancy, we carry out regular home visits to
• We also work with a network of local organisations
build trust with tenants and keep on top of any issues.
to ensure people have specialist support when
needed.
• 328 home visits have been made in the last
two years. • These include… Redcar and Cleveland Mind,
Eva Women’s Aid, Community Campus84,
• We also provide expert help on how to navigate Coatham House, My Sisters Place and Tees
the benefit system. This support – particularly Valley councils.
liaising directly with benefit authorities – is
absolutely critical in helping people avoid rent
arrears and therefore evictions.
4 5
BRITAIN’S THE CHALLENGE
HOUSING ON TEESSIDE
CHALLENGE
In the UK, the number of people who are homeless and those in housing need has
been growing, while the supply of social housing has been dwindling. This forces
people into the lower part of the private rented sector (PRS), where they often face
substandard living conditions and landlords or agencies who are ill-equipped to
support their needs, or indeed slum landlords who exploit them. This often leads to
unstable tenancies and a revolving door of homelessness.
A good proxy for housing need is Housing Benefit1, which the Government uses to
In Teesside, the size of the PRS on The quality of PRS accommodation in Teesside is
provide financial assistance to those who do not have the financial means to pay for also below the national average. This is a significant
their rent. In the last 20 years, the overall cost of Housing Benefit has doubled to over Teesside has also doubled over contributor to housing market decline in ex-industrial
£22 billion2 – more than the entire national policing budget. The PRS has doubled in the past ten years, in line with areas: It brings house prices down street by street
size since 2010 and about a third of this £22 billion is paid to PRS landlords; with no as absent or slum landlords put people in with no
requirements on property conditions. the national trend: c.18% of all
checks, no management and little or no repair and
households are now in the PRS with maintenance on the properties. This is the typical
Homelessness of all kinds has also risen every year since 2010; in 2019 it rose by
23% compared with 20183. Rough sleeping is the most obvious form of this, but
c.60% in receipt of Housing Benefit. slum landlord business model and they take the
housing benefit, giving nothing back.
there are also a far larger and growing number of ‘hidden homeless’. In 2019 there
were over 86,000 households (including over 130,000 children) living in ‘temporary Teesside faces some particular challenges with regard
to housing need and homelessness. Although the EHC’s long-term approach to owning and
accommodation’, while a further 32,000 households had been recognised by
region has the lowest average house price values and maintaining affordable properties in Teesside’s
councils as homeless with a legal right to rehousing.
rents in the UK, it also contains some of the most lower-value PRS, along with TELA’s intensive
The biggest cause of homelessness in recent years has been the ending of PRS deprived areas of the country. According to the 2019 housing management, represents a wider
tenancies – often because the freeze on Housing Benefit in 2011 left people unable Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMDs)4, which measure investment in our community. Weak local sub
to afford their rent (domestic abuse and ‘being asked to leave by family or friends’ are a number of economic, social and health indicators, housing markets negatively affect people’s quality of
the two other biggest causes). Middlesbrough is the most multiply deprived local life living there (as crime and anti-social behaviour
authority area in England, while Hartlepool was ranked is higher), cause lower house prices, cost the
10th, and Redcar and Cleveland 29th (out of 343 local public purse disproportionate amounts of money,
authorities nationally). and negatively impact on nearby sub-economies
RISING HOUSING 25
BENEFIT LEVELS: including local high streets.
This level of deprivation can be seen in the PRS on
20
Teesside with almost 60% of tenants being in receipt As socially-driven organisations, we are striving
of Housing Benefit; far higher than the national rate. to redress this on Teesside.
15
£ Billion
10
5
1 We are using the term Housing Benefit to include Local Housing Allowance and Universal Credit Housing Costs (all are the same rates, with more people moving to UC as
it is rolled out). https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/13940
2. https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/13940
3 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/18/homeless-households-in-england-up-by-23-in-a-year-official-figures
2008-09
2003-04
2005-06
2004-05
2002-03
2006-07
2007-08
2000-01
1989-90
1999-00
2001-02
2009-10
1988-89
1998-99
1993-94
1985-86
1994-95
1995-96
1987-88
1986-87
1992-93
1996-97
1997-98
1990-91
1991-92
2015-16
2014-15
2013-14
2016-17
2012-13
2010-11
2011-12
4 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/835115/IoD 2019_Statistical_Release.pdf
6 Source: DWP 7
OUR IMPACT TELA’s model of intensive housing management has demonstrable
results, as measured by our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which
are reported to Board quarterly. They include financial indicators
SUPPORTING TENANTS alongside social impact indicators.
AND TACKLING HOMELESSNESS 250
All properties managed by TELA, whether a private landlord
or EHC, use the KPIs to ensure consistent results. Indeed,
it was by proving this performance in TELA’s first 2.5 years 200
managing private landlord properties that the first £5million
of social investment was agreed to establish EHC. The KPIs 150
we measure include; controlling rent arrears, repairs and
maintenance, preventing evictions. tenancy support, and 100
lettings times.
0
In 2019/20, we rehoused more than double the Of the 33 homeless people we rehoused in 2019/20, No. of tenancy No. of
amount of homeless people we rehoused in 2018/19: worryingly, only 14% had a home of their own interventions scheduled
provided home visits
(33 up from 13) This 33 represents 38% of all our new when they got in touch with us (they were renting
lets in that period. We also gave free housing advice but this was coming to an end for various reasons) 2018/2019 2019/2020
to 109 people (up from 72 the previous year). With with 50% either sofa surfing or staying in temporary
a small team this takes some doing! (Homelessness accommodation like a B&B or hostel. This is a very
means, in law, those with no home of their own and worrying indicator for Teesside as it shows how
those at risk of losing their home).
227 HOMELESS PEOPLE HELPED
ingrained homelessness has become.
In previous years, the majority of homeless people
3% We have consistently kept rent arrears below 3% (of gross rent due) over the
past two years and more. This is vital to preventing tenant debt and evictions,
BY US IN TWO YEARS: we rehoused were on a tenancy which was coming
and is a big part of why landlords choose TELA and the financial model of EHC.
to an end - therefore we prevented them from
becoming homeless. Now, the vast majority are
100 already homeless when they approach us (they are
just hidden from public view and not ‘on the streets’).
75
LIVING SITUATION ON FIRST
50 CONTACT WITH US:
25
0
Rehoused Free Advice
2018/2019 2019/2020
People were rehoused into properties owned by EHC Sofa Surfing: 28%
and also some in properties we manage for private Hostel/B&B/Refuge: 22%
landlord customers. Renting: 14%
On sofa at family/friends: 14%
8 9
HOW WE HELP
WHAT OUR TENANTS AND LANDLORD
CUSTOMERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT US
“I have been letting properties
for years. My past experiences
of agents weren’t good. Ethical
Lettings are different. They go
above and beyond to get the
job done. I get the rent from all
my tenants every month now -
“Ethical Lettings are that’s a first!”
great at finding decent
reliable tenants and their Ken Clark
Landlord Customer for over a year
management service is “Effective, compassionate, & supportive, The Ethical
efficient and on the ball.” Lettings Agency is the first estate agent in 15 years as
Richard Barker
a private tenant that has treated me as a customer &
Landlord Customer since 2015 person instead of just a wallet. Being self-employed,
it’s been invaluable to know that concerns are heard
and issues are resolved swiftly, so I can focus on
building my business and enjoying my home. From
replacing appliances to communication and support
throughout the COVID-19 crisis, they are proof that
“Ethical Lettings were fantastic
the industry can change for the better.”
when we wanted to move
home. They took care of Matthew Wood
everything and the entire Tenant since 2016
process was stress and hassle
free! Thank-you Ethical
Lettings for helping us find a
perfect home and supporting
us when we need help!”
Barry Grogen
Tenant since 2015
10 11
DONNA’S STORY...
Donna was living in Leicester where she had been living with her partner. The
relationship turned violent and she had to move away from the area. Originally
from Teesside, Donna decided to return back to the area but struggled to find
somewhere to rent as she could not afford social housing (as a single person)
and had little money to pay for a full month’s advance rent and bond, as required
by other landlords/agents in the private rental sector. She also could not verify
her housing history, as the previous tenancy had been in her ex-partner’s name,
and so other landlords/agents would not accept her.
Donna contacted The Ethical Lettings Agency (TELA) via her cousin who was an
““We have been with Ethical Lettings for
existing client. He recommended TELA to her as they had previously helped
over two years now and are very happy
him. Donna viewed a property with TELA where no monthly rental top-up was
required, so it would be affordable for her. After completing the application
with them. They helped me when we
process, they were able to let the property to Donna. TELA could do this as they had to go onto Universal Credit after
did not take any advance rent as Donna would qualify for Housing Benefit and problems with my job and worked hard
so they would wait for the first back-dated payment. TELA also only took a small for ages to sort things out. They still
bond, which Donna was able to afford. Donna has now been in the property for help us not get into arrears so we feel
almost a year and has settled in well overall, with regular contact with TELA and on top of things. We hope to stay for a
support from the local women’s aid charity that they referred her to. long time to raise our family”.
Michael Rudge
Tenant since 2018
“The experience I’ve had with TELA has been
amazing and they have helped me out a
lot with moving from down south up north “By far the most professional, efficient and friendly
for a fresh start; When I was in a vulnerable letting agent I’ve worked with. They take out the
state, they have been very helpful and I hard work and make things nice and simple. TELA
know who to call if I have a problem”. have extensive experience and knowledge in the
Donna
benefits system enabling them to provide the support
Tenant since 2019 our tenants need, resulting in rent being paid every
month, in full and on time - including in lockdown!
We will now give all our properties to TELA!”
Lee and Andrew
Newer landlord customers
12 13
LOOKING AHEAD
OUR IMPACT IN A
POST-COVID WORLD
We believe the increase in demand for affordable and
decent PRS housing in Teesside post-Covid will be
high and prolonged.
The recession the UK is now in will most likely hit harder on Teesside due to the
worse socio-economic conditions pre-Covid. For example, the Bank of England
predicts a national rise of unemployment from 3.8% pre-covid to 7.5% by the end
of 2020. Teesside had pre-covid rates of up to 7% and 9% in some boroughs and
so Teesside may well see unemployment rates of 15% to 20%. Unemployment
figures also do not include ‘under-employment’ - those working low hours on
low pay - many of whom will be dependent on Housing benefit to help pay rent.
In addition, national charities and local authorities on Teesside are planning for
a rise in all forms of homelessness, including from families after the furlough
scheme ends.
Unfortunately, the recession will also attract more slum landlords into Teesside
who see it as an opportunity to profit from poor and vulnerable people. Their
presence on Teesside has worrying impacts not only on tenants but on local
communities and economies as they lower house prices and often enable anti-
social behaviour and criminal activity.
TELA and EHC are actively committed to addressing this growing need for
decent and affordable housing and in doing so in helping to reduce the
numbers of slum landlords on Teesside.
Work has been ongoing during lockdown with national and local
authorities to identify need in the short and longer terms and
to raise additional social investment to fund more property
acquisitions..
EHC is committed to purchasing in the region of 100 new
properties every year for ten years, all of which will be managed
by TELA. This growing presence will ensure more people and
families on Teesside have decent and affordable rented homes to
live in in the hard times to come, and in doing so help prevent and
reduce homelessness.
14 15
A WORD
FROM OUR
BOARD
As well as Carla Keegans, TELA and EHC have two non-executive directors with
excellent experience in housing and finance who help ensure strong governance.
“ Bridges Evergreen is a long term investment “I have been a keen supporter of the TELA model
vehicle established in 2016 to back mission driven since Carla launched it and was very pleased to come
organisations tackling major issues of social need. In onto the Boards of both TELA and EHC. The TELA/
the past 2 years working with Carla and the team, we EHC model is innovative and is showing that it is
have demonstrated the positive impact of the TELA/ possible to combine excellent standards of housing
EHC partnership in helping people in housing need; management and tenant support with generating a
we are very excited about the opportunity to now financial return. Indeed, in many ways, our model is
scale up our work together.” more social than social landlords, the need for which
is pressing on Teesside and elsewhere.”
Scott Greenhalgh
Executive Chairman of Bridges Evergreen Holdings Ltd. Kevin Lowry
Interim Director of Housing and Residential Growth,
Manchester City Council
Together...
We can achieve
brilliant things!
14 Queen Street
Redcar TS10 1AE
t. 01642 484845
e. contactus@ethicallettingsagency.co.uk
www.ethicallettingsagency.co.uk
www.ethicalhousing.co.uk
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