Find Your Let Procedure
Find Your Let Procedure
July 2022
1. Definition
This procedure applies to customers owed prevention, relief or main housing duty who find their own private rented property and need help with a bond guarantee. This offer will also apply to any customers who are owed the general advice duty (S179).
Find Your Let is not a standard PRS offer but an additional product. The aim of the Find Your Let is to expand the PRS choice for customers sourcing their own accommodation. We will ensure that standards are met by providing a full inspection.
2. Related Policy to this procedure is the Sheffield Private Rented Solutions Protocol and Homeless Prevention Strategy.
3. Criteria
3.1 The standard PRS package will be the same for Find Your Lets as all PRS tenancies.
3.2 Find Your Let is available only to Housing Solutions customers or anyone in housing need that has or is likely to get is likely to get a priority for rehousing, this could be referrals from Neighbourhood Officers.
3.3 Find Your Let will be promoted to customers by Housing Solutions Officers and Rehousing Officers.
3.4 Customers can find their own private rented accommodation by mutual agreement with the Housing Solutions Officers or Rehousing Officer and it may be as part of their Personal Housing Plan.
3.5 The amount payable towards bond guarantee is in accordance with PRS procedures. The landlord would be eligible to claim all financial incentives that PRS offer including the Rent Guarantee Scheme and Dilapidation Scheme
3.6 Customers finding private rented accommodation will need to ensure that it is affordable and Private Rented Solutions will check this.
3.7 The accommodation will need to be inspected by Private Housing Standards in order to make sure that the property meets minimum safety standards.
3.8 Any works identified following inspection must to be carried out by the landlord or their agent prior to releasing a bond guarantee.
3.9 Find Your Lets may be used to discharge the Council’s prevention and/or relief duties. These will be recorded as successful outcomes and be counted as a final PRS offer
4. Review
Find Your Let Form – Private Rented Solutions
The Private Rented Solutions (PRS) service will help with a bond guarantee and can offer other landlord incentives for a suitable private rented property in Sheffield. It is important that the property you choose is suitable for you and your household.
Before your application can be accepted, we will investigate that you are in housing need and assess the property is suitable for you and your household based on factors such as property condition, affordability, size, and location etc. If the property does not meet the suitability criteria, we will not be able to offer you a guarantee on that property and you will be asked to look again.
It would be good for you to know what rent you can afford before you start your property search. You can get some good information on affordability through the Entitled To website here is the link: www.entitledto.co.uk
Here are some commercial websites you may find useful to search.
www.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare/sheffield
www.gumtree.com/property-to-rent/sheffield
www.facebook.com/marketplace/sheffield/propertyrentals
www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/classifieds/category/5-property-to-let/
Once you find something that you are interested in fill out the form below with as much information as possible and email it to PRS. We will then contact the landlord on your behalf. All properties let through us will be inspected by Private Housing Standards to make sure they are of a good standard and the landlord will go through a Fit and Proper check so we can be as sure as possible they are a good landlord. We will only support safe and affordable tenancies where the landlord is willing to engage with us.
To summarise here are the 4 steps for you to take:
- Find out how much rent you can afford
- Find a property that you are interested in
- If possible, contact landlord and arrange a viewing
- Fill out form attached and email it to privaterentedsolutions@sheffield.gov.uk , or phone on 0114 2053112 if you do not have access to email.
- Leave it with us to contact the landlord and we will get back to you
Disclaimer: Please note the websites listed above are either charity or commercial focused and we cannot accept any liability or responsibility regarding the content.