The Resonance Homelessness Property Funds AGM took place at the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation in London last week where, alongside St Mungo’s, we presented our sixth Social Impact Report to investors.

This year’s AGM was a much more interactive event that included presentations about the Impact Report, a Q&A session, some group work around three St Mungo’s tenant case studies and the viewing of our case study film ‘Paul’s Story’. Watch the film here. 

Funds summary

Resonance has three property impact investment funds across four UK cities (London, Bristol, Milton Keynes and Oxford), which have been set up so far and with the same social purpose: to help people at risk of homelessness to become more independent, linking stable housing to positive development in other parts of their lives.

Across all three Funds capital raised as at the end of March 2019 was £194m. Of this, £170m has been deployed to buy 723 properties housing 1,598 people, including 796 children.

Families and individuals living in temporary or unsuitable accommodation or who are homeless or at risk of homelessness are moved into safe and secure homes purchased and refurbished by Resonance. St Mungo’s social lettings agency Real Lettings manages the properties and supports tenants so that they can start to rebuild their lives with a view to moving on at the time that is right for them.

Key learnings from this year’s Social Impact Report

• 78% of tenants said their support network and relationships had been positively affected by living in a Real Lettings home
• A 3.4% increase in employment: for the first time in the history of the Funds, this year the percentage of tenants in work outnumbers whose who are unemployed
• Almost 25% of tenants are now saving for a deposit, a sustained rise over the last three years
• Stable accommodation for families: more children now being housed than adults. Single adults with children make up 65% of these households and 67% of these children are aged under five

A key impact of the Funds, identified in this year’s Social Impact Report, is the number of children being housed. Children in particular benefit from good quality, stable housing which has a huge impact on their emotional, physical and social development. Tenant case studies in the Social Impact Report explore the positive impact on children, such as settling into school and making friends, of having a safe and secure home.

Before moving into a Real Lettings property almost five years ago, Pethelma and her teenage daughter had stayed in shared private accommodation and with no stable home, had to move every six months, eventually staying in a hostel. This was incredibly disruptive and meant regular changes of school and friendship groups. However, for the last five years Pethelma and her daughter have been living in a Real Lettings property which has enabled them to feel settled in their home, given Pethelma the confidence to work and the stability for her daughter to continue her education and enjoy a part time job.

Key future commitments for the Homelessness Property Funds

During the AGM key commitments for the Homelessness Property Funds, as identified within the Social Impact Report, were shared:

• Growing the existing Funds and developing a follow-on Fund - there is a desire to scale the Funds by buying more housing, and to extend the duration for which housing can be held and tenancies continued
• Not working alone – the Funds are already a collaborative endeavour between St Mungo’s and Resonance with investments from Greater London Authority, charitable trusts, local authorities and private individuals
• Pro-actively tackling rent arrears – Real Lettings will continue to work with individual cases to break down the reasons behind rent arrears and address these
• Supporting people with more complex needs – Real Lettings Property Fund 2 is actively seeking to extend its housing offer to people with more complex need, such as people who have slept rough and women who have experienced domestic violence

Feedback after the new style AGM was really positive and will help us shape and develop future Homelessness Property Fund AGM’s. Freddie Waite, Investment Director at Big Society Capital said, “I Really enjoyed the event, and seeing just how many organizations are involved and engaged was pretty impressive! The case studies were a great reminder of what it is all about and what we are trying to achieve.”

And Daniel Grantham from London Borough of Lambeth said, “Definitely more interesting than previous years – primarily due to the more interactive nature of the session, more opportunities for discussion with other investors and the social impact feedback / case studies.”

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT