The HAT team at Exeter City Council, a small team part of the wider Housing Needs Team, has a diverse but specific toolkit to help alleviate homelessness and housing issues for the people of Exeter.

Our work with private landlords

The team was set up to help people looking for privately rented accommodation.  Our vision is to create strong and viable tenancies that work for landlords and tenants by providing a high-quality service.  We offer landlords the freedom to manage their own properties safe in the knowledge that they have support on hand whenever they need it.  Our service is completely free of change.  There are no fees or costs involved and our generous incentive package offers a number of benefits including up-front cash to landlord for letting properties, help in preparing and issuing tenancy agreements, deposits, rent in advance and tenants matched to properties following assessments.

Working with Individual clients

Many clients referred to the HAT team by colleagues in the wider Housing Needs Team will source their own accommodation.  At this point, an officer from the team will undertake a range of necessarily checks – such as contacting the landlord, consulting Land Registry, determining affordability, liaising with letting agents and offering rent in advance and deposit, where appropriate.

The Homes 4 Ukraine (HFU) scheme

Officers working on this scheme help Ukrainian guests who are currently living with local hosts to move into longer-term, privately rented accommodation by identifying those properties and liaising with the landlords and agents.  The Homes 4 Ukraine scheme in Exeter has a range of financial tools to secure tenancies for Ukrainian guests.  New guests are still arriving in Exeter weekly, and if they  source their own accommodation the scheme will operate in the same way.

Syrian and Afghan Resettlement Schemes

The HAT team works in the local housing market to identify, source and secure suitable privately rented properties for Syrian families currently staying in refugee camps outside the UK.  Once a property has been secured, an officer liaises with Environmental Health for a safety check; with Devon and Cornwall Police to establish the neighbourhood is an appropriate one for a Syrian family to settle and finally, before handing the property to Devon Country Council, who liaise with the Home Office to ensure the property will be affordable.  The HAT officers also work closely with community sponsorship groups who themselves are helping to house Syrian refugees (such as the CHARIS project) to ensure the properties those families move into are appropriate in the ways mentioned before.

Afghan families currently resident in properties sourced by the HAT team are helped to move on into affordable, stable accommodation once the lease on that property has come to an end.  This is achieved by an officer either securing an extension to the current lease and the landlord converting it to an affordable Assured Short hold Tenancy (AST), or by sourcing an alternative affordable AST in the Private Rented Sector.  Exeter City Council works closely with Devon County Council colleagues and local partner agencies such as HIKMAT and Colab to ensure families resettling through these refugee schemes have tailored support to help them integrate into the local community.   

Move on from supported accommodation

A HAT officer works closely with colleagues in the Devon Home Choice social housing scheme plus and a range of supported accommodation providers across the city to facilitate  move-on from supported accommodation of those ready for independent living into either the private rented sector or into social housing.  If clients are awarded a high (B) banding on Devon Home Choice the officer checks that clients are bidding each week and works with their support workers and colleagues in Devon Home Choice to ensure that the move-on goes ahead in a timely manner by addressing any issues around bidding, banding and the management of Devon Home Choice accounts etc.

Private Rental Sector Training Delivery

Officers from the HAT team have delivered training to support workers from supported accommodation and other partner agencies in order to offer key insights into accessing the privately rented accommodation, and are happy to share a range of resources with anyone finding them useful. Support workers can then engage with their own clients to access the PRS and so move on from supported accommodation into independent living.

Private Rental Sector (PRS) Access Training

A HAT officer works in an intensive way, one-to-one and in workshops with former rough sleepers resident in early stage  (hostel) accommodation to equip  them with the skills, encouragement and knowledge into accessing privately rented accommodation.  In turn this ideally  frees up a space for another rough sleeper to move off the streets.  The scheme works with a partner agency (Bournemouth Churches Housing Association) who will deliver tandem training called “Right At Home”, delivering key skills in a range of practical, financial and social areas to maintain a tenancy once secured.  The scheme can refer tenants to support if needed and has a range of financial benefits to offer landlords and prospective tenants to secure those tenancies. 

Contact us at: housing.access@exeter.gov.uk