Our philosophy is simple — we support tenants to settle and stay
Our stats speak for themselves with the average length of our tenancies at 4.5 years, this means tenants are staying longer and making themselves a home.
Neelam
Neelam’s debt was spiralling out of control. She came to the UK on a student visa and was struggling to find a home for her and her partner. The demand for housing meant that whenever she saw a property to let, they would quickly be snapped up. She had a set budget and could not be part of a rental bidding war.
Times were desperate and she checked into a hotel, she thought this would be short term. But this was not the case. She was unable to secure a house and she was in despair.
She spoke to a local business owner one day about her problems and they recommended My Landlord Cares. We could tell her situation was pretty desperate so we ran some background checks on this couple. This meant that when a property came up we were able to move them across without taking this to the open market. The landlord was pleased with this, because this minimised voids.
They are now in a safe and secure home. They have settled into the property and now are able to get on with their day to day lives. The landlord is happy that he has helped a vulnerable couple and My Landlord Cares have minimised his risks of rent arrears by running their checks and he can benefit from affordable regular rent.
Tenant K
Tenant K is part of Sheffield Council restart scheme for young offenders. Tenant K was able to find a 1 bed flat within our letting agency. This was their first ever home. They were initially nervous about contacting us their agents about reporting anything. They did this through their council support worker.
We are able to triangulate services for tenants if necessary to get the best outcome for the tenant. The more they saw us as a friendly agent the more confident they felt about communicating with us.
In the initial first few months tenant k requested a lot of support and help with things like how to respond to boiler signals, how to top up electricity etc they would request this through the council who would subsequently call us.
But now as they have settled these requests have reduced. They have contacted us recently to ask if they can paint the living room and update furnishings to their choice. We are proud to say tenants are calling these properties their long term homes.
Irena
Irena has been a tenant in her last property for 15 years. She is a single parent with 4 children who is on housing related benefits.
The landlord wanted to sell the property due to higher prices and wanted them out without serving the relevant notice.
She had attended 15 property viewings and was never shortlisted due to professionals and people who could pay 6 months rent upfront always getting in front of her. She was desperate. She considering becoming homeless.
Irena was so stressed about this due to not being able to find a house – there is a 62% increased demand in rental properties (source Helpland). Which meant that because she was deemed to be a high risk tenant due to being on Council benefits she would never get shortlisted.
We mediated with ex landlord, who subsequently provided Irena with the length of the eviction notice. This meant she had more time to plan the move and felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
Tenants in receipt of benefits struggle to pass traditional reference checks so we have to think outside the box. This is why most high street letting agents prefer not to deal with tenants on benefits. We ran extensive vetting processes, we get to know tenants, run informal checks to put the right tenant in houses.
Her post tenancy support is always very informal this is what we supported her with
Introduction to neighbours
Support with claiming benefits
Quick responses to issues
This has meant she has invested in the property, she takes pride in her home and calls this her long term home.