We are delighted to publish our latest Homelessness Property Funds Social Impact Report, highlighting the impact achieved by our first three homelessness property funds - Real Lettings Property Fund 1, National Homelessness Property Fund 2 and Real Lettings Property Fund 2 - in the twelve months to 31 March 2021.

John Williams, Managing Director of Property Funds shares some of the report's  key findings.

I am incredibly proud of the huge team effort during this challenging time. The report covers the period when the world was in the throes of the global pandemic. This includes our funds’ tenants who have been living with COVID-19 and adapting to the ‘new normal’ for some time now, and the impact it’s had on day-to-day life.

Despite the pandemic, our funds continue to have impact in these four key impact measures:

• Improving Housing Options 
• Progressing Towards Work
• Improving Resilience Against Homelessness
• Stable Housing for Children

I am pleased to report that these impact measures either improved, were maintained or, where evidencing stress from the pandemic, appeared more robust than some comparable measures for similar socio-economic groups, proving tenants' resilience in a time of crisis.

With people spending more time in their homes, the pandemic has also highlighted the importance of having a safe and stable home environment. Homes have become even more central to peoples’ lives – they have evolved to be more than just a safe haven for individuals and families to safeguard themselves during lockdown measures. They are also places where people have worked from and where many have home-schooled their children. Providing a stable base - a decent home to live in – is enabling individuals and families to recover from the pandemic.

Public Health England: “The right home environment is critical to our health and wellbeing; good housing helps people stay healthy and provides a base from which to sustain a job, contribute to the community, and achieve a decent quality of life.”

A quick reminder as to why our homelessness property funds are needed:

• £1.6m people on social housing waiting lists
• 274,000 people in England are homeless
• 2,700 people sleeping rough in England on any given night

And what the funds have achieved to date:

• 2,683 people housed since 2013
• 1,832 people housed in the last year, of which 892 are children
• Bought and refurbished 822 properties
• Raised £198.5m
• 76% of all tenants said their relationships had been positively affected by living in the funds' homes
• 62.7% of households that moved on were positive – a 10% increase in positive move-ons compared to last year

So, despite COVID-19, our funds continued to deliver impact – which is really brought to life when you read about our tenants’ experiences during this time. We are incredibly grateful to the tenants who shared their stories with us for this report; their ups, downs and challenges: from furlough, financial struggles and redundancy to new babies, home schooling, new starts and more.

Alongside our housing partners, our fund teams have successfully adapted to and navigated an uncertain world. They have continued to buy and refurbish properties, and house and support individuals and families in the right homes for them, in London, Milton Keynes, Oxford and Bristol, providing them with security and stability.

And the great news, is that over the last year we have successfully launched two additional homelessness property funds: National Homelessness Property fund 2 and Resonance Everyone In. I am also pleased that this means we are either currently - or looking at - expanding our portfolio into other cities and regions in England, including Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Bristol and Cornwall.

Download the report 

More information about our newer homelessness property funds:

National Homelessness Property fund 2 - for people at risk of homelessness across the UK

Resonance Everyone In fund - for people sleeping rough and homeless in London