Housing Needs Newsletter - December 2021
Published: 6 December 2021
Housing & Homeless Advice for People in Exeter & the Surrounding Area
The Housing Solutions service is here to offer help and support on housing and homelessness. You can contact us using the details below.
How to Contact Us
Online: you can contact us using our housing services online self-referral to tell us if you are homeless, at risk of homelessness or need some housing advice. We will contact you within one working day to advise or to arrange a telephone appointment with a Housing Solutions officer.
Alternatively you can contact us by telephone or email during our office hours, which are 9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.
Telephone: 01392 265726
Email: housing.advice@exeter.gov.uk
Emergency contact: if you've been made homeless outside of our normal working hours, you can contact our emergency out-of-hours service on 01392 265147. The service operates 5.00pm to 9.00am Monday to Friday, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays.
If you don’t have access to a telephone or computer: there are free telephones outside the entrance to the Civic Centre that you can use to contact us. The phones are cleaned regularly. The Civic Centre is located on Paris Street, near to the new Exeter bus station. See where to find us on Google Maps.
Services at the Civic Centre:
Due to the pandemic, we are offering a revised service at the Civic Centre. Appointments at the Civic Centre will only be offered to households who are unable to complete a housing advice appointment via telephone, and appointments must be booked in advance using the contact details provided above.
Safety: except those who are exempt, all staff in the Civic Centre Customer Service area will be wearing a mask. We ask that clients wear a mask unless they are exempt.
When to Contact the Council
There are lots of different situations where you can contact the Housing Solutions team. Below are some of the most common reasons households approach us for help and advice. We would always encourage you to contact us if you are experiencing any of the following:
- Difficulty paying your rent, or other household bills
- You have received a notice to quit or have been asked to leave your home by parents, friends or other family
- Your current home is not suited to the needs of you and your household (disrepair, overcrowding, accessibility etc.)
- Your current accommodation is temporary or insecure (sofa surfing, staying temporarily with friends or family)
- Any other reason that makes you at risk of losing your home or makes you unsafe in your home.
Online Advice/Resources
You can find some useful information about housing and homeless on our website, including information about preventing homelessness and targeted housing/homelessness advice for the following:
- Care leavers
- Ex-forces personnel and their families
- Older people
- People leaving prison
- People leaving hospital
- People/households who have been asked to leave by family or friends
- People who are at risk of homeless due to relationship breakdown (non-violent)
- People who are at risk of homeless due to domestic/sexual violence and or abuse
- Evictions and ending a tenancy
Exeter Community Wellbeing
Created in response to the coronavirus crisis in March 2020, Exeter Community Wellbeing offers a range of support including advice on support services and how to contact them, one-off hardship grants, and assistance to arrange food shopping and/or prescriptions for clinically vulnerable or isolating households. All the information can be found on the Exeter Community Wellbeing website.
SPOTLIGHT ON: Private Rented Sector Updates –
Reduced Notice Period & New Financial Help for COVID-19 related Rent Arrears
Each month we provide some additional information on a different area of housing or homelessness. This month we will be looking at the updated notice period for evictions from private rented accommodation, and new support available for private renters. From October 1st 2021, the standard notice period of 2 months has been reintroduced.
If you have been issued with a notice to quit your private rented accommodation please contact the Housing Advice team using the contact information above as soon as possible. The team can help you:
- Explore options to see if you can stay in your existing accommodation (for example, financial support if you have rent arrears);
- Provide advice and support to secure new accommodation;
- Check if you have been given the correct amount of notice.
You can also find useful information and advice about private rented evictions at the following link: Housing advice: coronavirus (COVID-19) - Shelter England.
Funding is available until 31st March 2022 for private renters with a low income and COVID-19 related rent arrears. This funding is to help households avoid eviction or to find a new home to prevent homelessness. Fill in our online referral form to ask for help.
Information for Private Landlords in Exeter and the Surrounding Area
The Housing Access Team continues to work throughout the pandemic to help households find private rented accommodation. We are always interested in hearing from landlords with properties in Exeter and the surrounding area.
New Financial Support for Private Renters
The government have provided additional funds to Local Authorities to assist tenants who are in rent arrears due to COVID-19, to prevent homelessness. If you have a tenant who is struggling to pay their rent and is at risk of homelessness then please with their permission refer them for assistance.
New Landlord Referral Scheme
If you have a tenant who is at risk of losing their private rented accommodation but does not meet the criteria for the Vulnerable Renters support fund, we still want to hear from you. We are here to support both landlords and tenants to resolve tenancy issues. If you have a tenant who is at risk of eviction for whatever reason, please with their consent refer them to us so we can work together to prevent homelessness.
Housing Access Together Scheme
Our successful private rented sector scheme matches landlords with available properties of any type or size with households who need help to find private rented accommodation in Exeter and the surrounding area. Our completely free scheme offers a range of benefits for landlords:
- Up-front cash incentives to landlords for letting a property in partnership with us
- Deposit and rent in advance: rapid payment processing to minimise delays in letting your property
- Find the right tenant for your property: tenants are matched to your property following a comprehensive suitability and affordability assessment
- Guidance on legal obligations: meeting rental regulations can be tricky and requires knowledge of many pieces of legislation - we can advise you on anything you need to know
- Ongoing support for landlords and tenants: you will have our support for the period of the tenancy if you have any queries or problems
- Full control over who moves into your property: we will introduce you to good tenants but you will be under no obligation to offer them a tenancy
If you still need convincing then take a look at this testimony!
"I have worked with Exeter City Council as a private sector landlord for over 10 years and have found the process to be a very positive one. From procedures for example such as tenant selection, tenancy support, property inspections etc. I've always felt reassured that these are dealt with in a professional manner, particularly given the ever increasing legislative requirements that the private sector has seen in recent years.” Landlord, N.T-G
How to Contact Us
You can register your interest in working with the Housing Access Team by completing our online form, which can be accessed here
Alternatively, you can contact us by telephone or email between 9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday, using the following details:
Telephone: 01392 265727 / 265819
Email: housing.access@exeter.gov.uk
Please remember: we want to hear from you if you are homeless or at risk of being made homeless – the sooner you contact us the sooner we can try to prevent you from becoming homeless.