“I never truly understood the meaning of having my own place. A place of family, joy and happiness. Response has given me a home with a new beginning and new memories. Having a home is the best feeling ever, I have a safe, secure home where I feel protected. A home I can come back to every day, a home where I can just be me.” Kim, tenant

There are over 100,000 people across the UK who are experiencing homelessness and struggle to access the private rented sector, finding themselves trapped in a cycle of emergency, temporary and unstable accommodation. This uncertainty makes moving forward with life almost impossible. Stable housing, on the other hand, helps people to settle into their community, plan for their future, find regular employment and recover from issues affected by their previous homeless situations, such as mental and physical health, addiction, and wellbeing.

Resonance’s Homelessness Property Funds purchase properties for people experiencing homelessness, thanks to investment from social impact motivated investors, including local authorities and pension funds.

Once fully refurbished, properties purchased are handed over to the funds’ expert housing partners who lease them, identify local people in need of a safe and stable place to call home, and manage tenancies as well as providing tenants with access to a range of specialist support services.

Properties are renovated to a high standard, with a focus on making them more energy efficient, ensuring they are safe and decent places to live, in local communities.

One of Resonance’s property funds, National Homelessness Property Fund 2, has partnered with nine expert Housing Partners, including Response, a charity based in Oxfordshire that believes in putting people at the heart of mental health support, providing them with the tools they need to live independently within their local community. The fund is purchasing twenty-seven properties for Response – a mix of shared homes and one-bedroom properties – with the aim of providing decent homes and the foundation for a stable life for people in Oxfordshire experiencing homelessness.

Take a look at one of the properties the fund has purchased and recently refurbished for Response.

It’s a one-bedroom property, one of three flats, in a block of flats. It has a lovely, enclosed garden and private parking and is close to local amenities and transport.

Refurbishment of the property included:

• New electric heating
• Kitchen upgraded
• New fire doors added
• Painting and decorating throughout
• Improving its energy efficiency with its EPC rating improved from an E to a C

The fund’s housing partners are an important part of decisions around choosing suitable properties. Luke Winstone, Settled Oxfordshire Manager at Response, explains:

“When we’re looking at properties, Resonance will ask us to rate them. So, we’re looking at access to public services, doctor’s surgeries, shops, bus routes – both for the client and for the ease of getting support out to them.

We felt the flats were a good choice for Settled Oxfordshire for many reasons. They sit in a very good location just off a main road and with parking. They are very close to great bus routes with shops and doctors all within a five-minute walk. The flats themselves are all very spacious with most of them having their own front door. All three flats are on the ground floor, and each have small back gardens. This makes them ideal for clients with pets and/or mobility difficulties.”

Resonance is delighted that the flat has been handed over to a tenant, Kim*, who said of her new home:

“I was so nervous at first, then excited, then a little sad. In the back of my mind was a little voice saying ‘You don’t deserve this’.

I never truly understood the meaning of having my own place. A place of family, joy and happiness. Response has given me a home with a new beginning and new memories. Having a home is the best feeling ever, I have a safe, secure home where I feel protected. A home I can come back to every day, a home where I can just be me.

My new home is so beautiful, it has large open living room and kitchen. The bedroom has patio doors leading to the back garden. A place my grandchildren can play, its nicely decorated and clean. Most importantly it’s safe and warm. A place where I feel I belong.

It’s the perfect location as it’s only five minutes away from everyone I know. Especially my mum. I see her most days and just having her so close is fantastic. I am so near to all the shops and my daughter is only one hour’s drive away.

The benefits of being part of the community means I can socialise with other people and make new friendships. Being around others is key to my accountability and keeps me on my sobriety path. I have a sense of belonging and feel supported. I know my neighbours fairly well and getting to know them better and have made many friends.”

About National Homelessness Property Fund 2

Kim is one of Resonance’s NHPF2’s tenants. She is supported with her tenancy alongside access to other support services by one of the fund’s expert housing partners, Response in Oxford.

The fund purchases properties in the heart of local communities, chosen with the fund’s expert housing partners. Properties are refurbished to a high standard including improving their energy efficiency and once refurbished, they are handed over to housing partners to manage tenancies and support tenants.

Stable homes allow tenants to transition from homelessness to becoming part of their community, gaining employment or training, saving for their future and giving them the ability to eventually move on into their own private accommodation.

So far, over 300 people have been provided with a place to call home and a chance to rebuild their lives. The fund has ambition to purchase 1,500 properties and to house around 15,000 people over its lifetime.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT NATIONAL HOMELESSNESS PROPERTY FUND 2 HERE.

*Name changed