A fairer deal for landlords and tenants

This comes as council statistics show that the loss of a private rented home was the largest cause of homelessness in the city in 2016/17.

Gary Waller, chairman of iHOWZ, formerly the Southern Landlords Association, said: “Many landlords, myself included, have sympathy with youngsters and key workers struggling to pay the high rents and are willing to offer a property to help out.

“By offering a lower rent landlords find tenants stay longer, cutting costs. They also appreciate that the landlord is trying to be decent and respond by being good tenants. I urge fellow landlords to seriously consider signing up for the scheme which could really help people.”

iHOWZ has been working with the Living Rent Campaign on the ‘good landlord’ scheme, with housing charities, the council and letting agents.

The idea is to encourage landlords to limit rents to local housing allowance levels, which ranges from £358 per month for shared accommodation (room rate in a shared house) to £998 for a three-bed house. In the private sector rents are much higher, ranging from £558 for a shared accommodation to £1,578 for a three-bed house.

The scheme matches landlords with lower income tenants who would otherwise struggle to pay market rents.

David Gibson, Green councillor and Living Rent campaigner, said: “Rents in the city are some of the highest in the country. People on average incomes in the city are up against it. Some are forced to move away to afford a family, others become homeless. The good landlord scheme offers a chance for some and whilst not quite achieving living rents will be a real help for household struggling to afford to live in the city.”

The living rent campaign argues that rents should be linked to household incomes rather than the market, and says rent should be no more than a third of household income. A local housing allowance rent is higher than a living rent, but is more affordable than market rents.

Paul Bonett of letting agents Bonetts, which sat on the steering group for the scheme, said: “I am keen on the good landlords scheme. It’s a very good principle for improving the quality of lets in Brighton and Hove, and improving the relationship between landlords and tenants. It’s clearly something that’s needed.”

Landlords can deal directly with tenants, lease their property to Brighton Housing Trust who can manage the tenant for a guaranteed rent, or can opt to go through one of the scheme’s letting agent partners Alderton and Sussex Student Lettings. Any landlords interested finding out more should contact Gary Waller on [email protected] or David Gibson on [email protected]