New agency finding homes for families
A groundbreaking new agency aiming to cut Birmingham’s housing list by working more closely with private landlords is starting to make its mark.
Launched in January as a partnership between Birmingham City Council and Omega Lettings Ltd, Let to Birmingham aims to match up homeless households with good quality privately rented homes.
The agency is the first of its kind in the Midlands and has already helped 16 families move from temporary accommodation into new permanent homes.
Now the Let to Birmingham team is stepping up the search for landlords and homes with a new advertising campaign.
Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Steve Bedser, said: “This is an exciting new project which is already finding quality new homes for families across Birmingham.
“We want people to be able to move out of temporary accommodation into more suitable long-term homes as quickly as possible and Let to Birmingham is helping us do just that.
“The project team carries out rigorous checks to ensure that each property is sound and that the landlord is up to the job.”
Background
The high level of housing need in Birmingham means it is not always possible to rapidly end stays in temporary accommodation with the offer of social housing for homeless households.
The creation of a social lettings agency (Let to Birmingham) is one way in which the council is responding by trying to make better use of all suitable housing available across the city.
Let to Birmingham is making it easier for more people to get a quality home in the private rented sector by working with landlords to provide them with the re-assurance that they need as businesspeople, including providing funds for deposits.
For a no obligation rental evaluation, landlords should go to: www.lettobirmingham.com or call 0121 285 0364
