500th Tenant Benefits from Support
At East Durham Homes we know from experience that tenants sometimes have difficulty in sustaining tenancies and have put a number of services in place to help new tenants keep their home and also improve the quality of life for existing tenants.
One of the services offered is the furnished tenancy service, which provides furniture and household appliances to tenants. Out of the 8,600 properties that East Durham Homes manage there are now 500 tenants using the furnished tenancy service. East Durham Homes celebrated this by presenting the 500th tenant, Mrs Grainger, of Brackendale Court, Station Town with a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates.
Mrs Grainger, who is 79 and in poor health said, “I am very grateful to Paul Malcolm, the Furnished Tenancy Officer, for arranging for the furniture pack, it includes a tumble dryer that will help me in the winter so I won’t have to go outside to dry my clothes”.
Pam Cox, Specialist Support Manager said: “We introduced the furnished tenancy service in October 2005 as we were aware that some of our tenants did not have their own furniture and had no other means of getting furniture. We have developed our services around the needs of our tenants and recognise that they may have problems that, with our assistance, can be resolved”.
East Durham Homes furnished tenancy scheme allows for various sized furniture packs to be rented with a weekly charge to the tenants. The weekly charge may be met by housing benefit if the tenant is on low income.
Other support services available include the Tenancy Sustainment Service, which focuses on preventing the common problems that can lead to tenancy failure and a specialist Welfare Debt Advisor to help maximise the income for tenants and prevent rent arrears.
For more information on the furnished tenancy service please contact Paul Malcolm or Melonie Booth on 0800 032 0835.