Hastings council looks at rent guarantor pilot scheme

Hastings Borough Council plans to pilot a scheme where it acts as a guarantor for residents who are, or are at risk of becoming, homeless.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th Feb 2019, 15:52 BST
Updated 12th Feb 2019, 17:17 BST
Hastings Borough CouncilHastings Borough Council
Hastings Borough Council

At a cabinet meeting on Monday (February 4), Hastings council leaders heard details of how the authority plans to spend its Flexible Homelessness Support Grant (FHSG) in 2019/20 –  ringfenced money for homelessness prevention activities and temporary accommodation.

According to papers from the meeting, the council intends to invest the grant in a number of preventative measures, including a pilot scheme where the council will act as a guarantor to help people move on from temporary accommodation or prevent them from becoming homeless.

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Cllr Andy Batsford, Hastings Borough Council’s lead member for housing, said: “For a long time we have given out grants for deposits and rent in advance, which has helped a considerable amount of people find places to live and make sure they didn’t end up homeless and living in our temporary accommodation.

“But more and more people are now having to find guarantors on top of that.  The reality is most people’s parents haven’t got the finances to be the guarantor either.

“You need to be earning around three times the amount of rent to be a guarantor, including your own rent or mortgage payments, so it is almost impossible to find a guarantor.”

During the meeting, councillors heard how the number of homelessness applications accepted by the council has remained ‘relatively constant’ over the last few years, with 252 in 2015/16, 230 in 2016/17 and 260 in 2017/18.

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