Rent Deposit Schemes (RDSs) help low-income individuals, who cannot afford the initial outlay of an advance rent and deposit payment, to access homes in the PRS.
They work by offering landlords a cash deposit, bond or guarantee and they often pay the first month’s rent as well. Where they operate, RDSs can be highly effective in preventing or tackling homelessness.
Recent research by London Councils (formerly Association of London Government) into homelessness prevention initiatives in London found that rent deposit schemes were among the most successful initiatives.
There are many RDSs across London and the country. The majority are run or commissioned by Local Authorities, and most of these focus their resources on statutory homeless groups (such as families), and provide more limited support to non-statutory homeless individuals.
There are also many RDSs that are not funded by Local Authorities, and which are more likely to support non-statutory homeless people.
Crisis runs a scheme called
SmartMove, which is an umbrella for over 20 individual RDSs in the UK.
What this means is that even with the range of provision that exists, it is not universal. In London, and indeed across the country, not everyone in a vulnerable situation who could be prevented from becoming homeless through a RDS, can actually access support from one. If you do not fall into a statutory need category, it will often depend on if there is a voluntary scheme in your borough/region.
On top of this, while the RDS movement is well established, practice is highly variable. Some schemes operate very successfully, both in terms of the impact they have and on their ongoing financial viability. Other are less successful, and are difficult to sustain financially because of the way in which they are structured and funded.
In the section of this website on
the London Housing Foundation's PRS programme, you can read more about our work with Crisis on a Rent Deposit Schemes Development project.
In the
PRS Schemes in London section of the website you can find out more about each of the RDSs that operate in London.