It is too easy for social landlords to turn away those that have fallen through the cracks of the system in favour of safer tenants with good salaries

Homelessness charity Broadway has created a very simple vision from a complex and challenging situation: we want every person to find – and keep – a home.

A housing crisis is gripping London and we know this will not be easy. But in 2005, our charity set up a social enterprise called Real Lettings to provide stable private rented accommodation for people who have been, or are at risk of becoming, homeless.

The idea was simple. We worked with private landlords who leased properties to us for an agreed period and a guaranteed rent. We then housed people who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, and returned the property to the landlord at the end of the agreement in its original condition.

Today that simple idea has grown, and we have housed more than 350 people in secure tenancies from a variety of situations and backgrounds. Between 2010 and 2012, 30% of tenants came from homelessness hostels, 17% from supported housing schemes and 16% from B&B or temporary accommodation. There are even occasions when we can accommodate rough sleepers straight from the streets.

Real Lettings has helped us to house people in London for whom there has been no other option. People who come with a history of debt, chaotic lifestyles and dependencies; people who do not have a credit rating, who have histories that preclude them from accessing social housing and who have difficulties in holding down a tenancy.

In contrast to our scheme, housing associations are choosing to allocate properties only to people who are 'ideal' social tenants: people in work with good salaries (although good can often mean just 'average') and a perfect housing history. Not the people who have slept rough, who have fallen out of the system in some way and have little opportunity to access social housing.

Housing associations should focus on providing housing for poor families as well as for people starting out on the housing ladder or those who need a helping hand in some way. And, yes, certain developments should be 'for profit' to increase the general housing stock. But the test of the system must be how housing associations respond to those in the greatest housing need. It is all too easy for many housing associations to either ignore this group or categorise them as too risky and walk away.

The numbers of these people is growing daily and to cope with the demand we have had to make a brave new move – a move that we would not want to make but feel we must in order to fill this gap.

We launched the Real Lettings Property Fund to attract investment and allow us to purchase and offer more properties to those most in need of a house. London & Quadrant (L&Q) has invested £10m into the fund which, alongside the support of three other trusts, has allowed us to close the first funding round. We are now preparing to purchase our first one and two-bed properties to house homeless families and individuals.

Through their investment, L&Q has shown insight in recognising that not only do they have a responsibility to address the housing needs of the most vulnerable, but that they can trust a charity to bring expertise worthy of their investment, rather than trying to do everything themselves. We believe more housing associations should adopt this approach.

Charities such as Broadway started from outrage that the housing safety net provided by legislation did not extend to everyone; resulting in single homeless people having to sleep on the streets, damaging their health and self-esteem. Now, many years later, the number of people in housing need has grown and the responsibility for their housing has fallen to housing associations. Now is the time for those housing associations to take that responsibility seriously.

Howard Sinclair is chief executive of Broadway

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