Homelessness

Many private tenants have been furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to experience hardship which may have impacted their ability to pay their rent.

During this time, we have asked landlords:

• to be flexible and initiate open conversations with tenants at the earliest opportunity. 
• to agree on a way forward such as agreeing to an affordable rent repayment plan before acting through the courts
• to manage disputes via mediation and reaching a mutually acceptable agreement to resolve the dispute.

Ending of the eviction ban

The ban on private rented sector evictions ended on 31 May 2021, where the notice period of six months has been reduced to four months.

Landlords are likely to experience a backlog in Possession Order cases going through the Court process and Waltham Forest will act against Landlords who evict tenants illegally, were able to offer advice and guidance to Landlords on how to end a tenancy legally.

We can offer a financial incentive to eligible Private landlords in the borough who are willing to renew an existing tenancy to prevent a household from becoming homeless.

Where it is not possible to renew an existing private tenancy, we will aim to work with your tenant to help them find a new private rented home.

Incentives

• Financial incentive of £3000 to Landlords willing to renew an existing tenancy for a further period of 24 months or £4,000 for a 36-month fixed-term tenancy
• Reimbursement of Court Fees where a landlord agrees to renew a private tenancy to prevent a household from becoming homeless
• Financial assistance for private tenants to help reduce rent arrears
• Financial assistance for private tenants to meet a temporary shortfall between their income and their rent
• Financial assistance to private tenants in the form of deposit and/or rent-in-advance to help them move to another privately rented home.

The scheme is only available where the current tenant has an existing open homeless application with the Council and/or where we have notified the tenant that we have accepted a housing duty. 

How to contact us

If you are a Landlord and would like to know more about our incentive schemes to prevent homelessness, please do not hesitate to get in touch