A £750,000 fund designed to help homeless people and those at risk of homelessness find a permanent place to live has been awarded to Enfield Council.
The Council will use the funding to help vulnerable people secure their own tenancy. Offering support in areas such as paying deposits or putting down a month’s worth of rent will avoid having to place people into expensive temporary accommodation.
Enfield Council is one of 13 London boroughs to successfully bid for funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which confirmed that more than £19.5m in its Private Rented Sector Access Fund is to be shared amongst 54 projects in England. The Government scheme forms part of the Rough Sleeping Strategy, which aims to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and end it by 2027.
Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Dino Lemonides, said: “It is vital we give people facing homelessness a route out of it with access to good quality, safe and appropriate housing. The private rented sector has a role to play in this. We will therefore be working closely with landlords and community groups to make sure that those are vulnerable will have the vital support and resources they need to secure accommodation.
“The funding will make a difference in opening up the private rented sector to people who need it and give them the chance to rebuild their lives, with the support of the Council.
“Enfield Council is fully committed to fighting homelessness and rough sleeping. With these additional resources, we will be able to make significant inroads although we also need a concerted and coordinated approach from the government and housing sector to end homelessness in England for good.”
