Rental deposit loan scheme
The Government has backed a new scheme that will see help offered to many potential tenants by providing the opportunity to get a loan from their employers to help pay the deposit necessary to rent a home. The scheme works in a similar way to the season ticket loan programme that allows employers to help their employees with paying their travel costs. The deposit loan scheme will allow employees to borrow some of their salary upfront in order to pay for rental deposits and will be available in both the public and private sector. The money borrowed will then be repaid from the employee’s salary over the following 12 months.
The scheme was pioneered by housing and homelessness charity Shelter and the Mayor of London last year and earlier this month, the Housing Minister Brandon Lewis, announced government-wide support for the scheme. All of Whitehall has now agreed to offer deposit loans to staff looking to take up new tenancies in the private rented sector, following in the footsteps of the Department for Communities and Local Government. This includes the Home Office, Ministry of Defence, Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs and the Department of Health.
Commenting on the scheme, Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said:
‘Finding the money to pay for a deposit shouldn’t stop someone from getting a home for their family, but as the cost of housing keeps rising, more and more people are struggling to do just that. That’s why, after we successfully piloted the scheme for our own staff last year, we’re now calling on employers across the country to do the same and help their staff move home without breaking the bank.’