Letting agents ask landlords to help Afghan refugees

There have been several examples of local councils asking private landlords to help find accommodation for refugees - but now the letting agents body ARLA Propertymark is doing the same.

Propertymark has recently been supporting non-profit national mobility scheme, Homefinder UK, which work ls with over 50 local authorities and housing associations across the UK. 

Its objective is to support people in finding long term secure housing solutions, with a key strategic aim of supporting individuals and families who have been affected by conflict.

Following a recent UK Government announcement introducing a new pilot scheme in the West Midlands and North West of England to aid Afghan refugees currently residing in hotels secure long-term housing, Homefinder UK wants to help settle individuals and families within communities and provide support to those in this ‘bridging’ accommodation.

Propertymark says it welcomes any scheme that hopes to enhance opportunities for people to integrate into communities more easily via the Private Rented Sector, especially now that it is recognised that in the social housing sector demand outstrips availability. 

A Propertymark statement says: “While similar challenges exist in the Private Rented Sector, Propertymark are keen to play a leading role in ensuring private landlords are fully supported and best equipped to offer both safe and quality accommodation.”

Propertymark Policy Officer, Tim Thomas, comments: “We are continuing to call for support for the private rented sector and encourage further wide-ranging commitment to help solve ongoing issues. We are extremely supportive of this pilot and look forward to continuing working with Homefinder UK.”

Due to an extreme lack of social housing currently available in many geographical locations, Propertymark wants a comprehensive review on what assistance can be offered to help landlords provide accommodation of the very highest standard possible. 

With several complexities, such as current increases in interest rates and developments on the horizon such as the Renters Reform Bill, Propertymark says it wants “to ensure a fair and sensible system is developed to increase housing capacity and quality in line with demand.”

We're excited to announce that we're working on building a shiny new website for readers of Landlord Today! As part of this process, commenting on articles will be temporarily disabled. We look forward to sharing our new and improved Landlord Today website with you shortly!