A new, socially minded lettings agency is launching this month with a big aim: to help tackle housing inequality in the private sector.
Good Place Lettings, a joint venture between national homelessness charity Crisis and ethical lettings business Homes For Good, claims to provide a solution to some of the problems in the private rental market.
Based on Brick Lane, Good Place Lettings is a “values-led” agency, says founder Susan Aktemel.
Launching on October 22 it will offer good-quality homes and provide responsible property management to private landlords, who often self-manage or rely on traditional lettings agencies.
The difference here, though, is that Good Place Lettings is a Community Interest Company, with profits to be reinvested into supporting people experiencing homelessness and those on low incomes to find comfortable, affordable London homes.
It has funding from Lloyds Banking Group and the National Lottery Community Fund.
“At its heart, Good Place Lettings is a values-led business, just like Homes for Good, driven by a determination to make the rental sector a thriving market where both tenants and landlords get what they need,” says Aktemel.
“The team are committed to building a reputation as the go-to agency in London for landlords who want their property rented out easily and ethically, and for tenants who want an affordable home from an agency they can trust.”
The business will manage homes which are let at both market and affordable rents, but it also aims to help tackle “the exclusionary practices that have left too many people without a settled home”, says Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis.
This includes people on low incomes who face being pushed out of their local area, or those recovering from a personal housing crisis.
“Good Place Lettings is a truly exciting new initiative,” says Downie. “It shows that the private rented sector can and should be a place where people on low incomes, or facing homelessness, can build a life with a safe and secure home.
“With such a severe shortage of social housing, it’s vital that we have an inclusive private rented sector that provides good quality, genuinely affordable homes.
“Without this, we’ll see homelessness continue to rise and more people stuck in shoddy temporary accommodation.”
Homes for Good has already been operating in Glasgow since its launch in 2013.
Today, the group manages nearly 600 homes in Scotland, with 60 per cent owned by the business and 40 per cent managed on behalf of private landlords. In 2023, 90 per cent of tenants earned less than the minimum wage.
Statistics show that there is an urgent need to help those on lower incomes secure rental properties. Last year, London Councils revealed that just five per cent of private rental listings in London are viable to households on local housing benefits.
In April this year, Local Housing Allowances were frozen, pushing benefits further out of line with the cost of renting and leaving more tenants struggling to pay rent.
But as well as helping those on lower incomes to find rentals, Good Place Lettings aims to address other problems in the rental system.
A socially responsible approach to management may help to reduce rogue landlords, poor living conditions, soaring rents and discriminatory selection practices.
Private rents have risen by 41 per cent over the last decade in London, with the average rent now at £2,253 per month, according to the ONS.
“The private rented sector in London is under huge pressure from low levels of new supply which are limiting choice and pushing up rents,” says Ben Rayner, the company’s director.
“Regulation and reforms to the private rental market are making it more complex and challenging to be a self-managing landlord, which is why some are looking to exit the market.
“We offer an alternative and landlords interested in making a lasting difference to the experience of private renting in London should get in touch.”
