Housing associations and local councils across the UK are demanding young people facing homelessness pay hundreds of pounds worth of rent in advance before securing an ‘affordable’ social home – despite housing providers knowing full well that Universal Credit and the Housing Benefit are paid in arrears. 

Unable to afford the lump sum upfront, almost 100 young people would have otherwise faced homelessness if it weren’t for EveryYouth stepping in to cover the cost via its Homed Programme. The programme, funded entirely by voluntary donations and accessed by nine youth homelessness charities across the UK, has helped to cover the cost of 95 ‘rent in advance’ payments for social housing, costing a shocking £28,518.18, since 2020. 

EveryYouth partner charities in East Anglia, Bristol and the South West, South Yorkshire, Scotland and Wales are among organisations stepping in to cover rent in advance payments for young people. 

The bureaucratic nightmare is causing a hopeless situation for young people. Housing officers fear those who aren’t being supported by EveryYouth are being refused housing and plunged back into homelessness or, if they manage to move into a property, are then being accused of entering ‘debt’ as soon as the tenancy starts, and are hounded with letters and calls, threatened with eviction, or denied a ‘secure’ tenancy after 12 months.

EveryYouth CEO Nicholas Connolly says: “It’s a national scandal that we and other charities are subsidising government agencies unnecessarily. Where do these ‘rent in advance’ payments go and where are they stored? It’s a wasteful use of precious charity money, which is becoming harder and harder to raise in the economic climate. There’s a simple solution – young prospective tenants facing homelessness must not be required to make these payments or be marked as ‘in arrears’ so they become penalised for money they do not owe.” 

In Northern Ireland, EveryYouth paid more than £420 for a single rent in advance payment to the Housing Executive in September on behalf of Freya*, 19. 

Freya moved into the property after leaving her foster care family when she finished school and started working. But she was in no position to pay the rent in advance costs, despite working four days a week and studying, and relied on financial support via EveryYouth’s partner charity, MACS. 

“I probably would have been homeless otherwise. I was thinking about going to a homeless shelter in Belfast,” she says. “It was really scary, I’m not gonna lie. I thought ‘How am I going to be pay this?’. It’s meant to be affordable housing. The Housing Executive should give young people a house which is affordable and not ask for rent in advance.”  

EveryYouth partner charity The Benjamin Foundation, which operates in East Anglia, says local authorities demand vulnerable young tenants – who are often unaware of their rights – pay four weeks’ rent in advance usually costing between £380-£450. But Housing Transition Manager Anne Johnson says young people are not paid their Housing Benefit in time to pay the amount they owe, and are being hounded for money they do not have, as the payment dates for Universal Credit are not aligned to rent payment dates.    

She says: “Young people sign the tenancy and then get hounded through letters stating they are in rent arrears. The shock value unsettles them and they get constantly called. It’s portrayed to be affordable housing when it’s not. A young person under 25, on Universal Credit and having to pay bills, there’s no money left for them to survive.” 

In Edinburgh young people have been required to pay £400 to secure a housing association home. Most young people don’t have that saved if they are in receipt of benefits, says Housing Officer Danny McDonagh from EveryYouth charity partner, The Rock Trust. 

“A single mother with a toddler was only given few days’ notice to pay £400 to secure a property and the initial payment was expected to be paid prior to viewing the property,” he said.  

“It’s possibly members of staff within housing associations that aren’t sure about flexibility and payment plans. It seems staff are advised by their managers not to tell young people. There are a lot of people moving into housing association flats who can afford to pay rent in advance and perhaps staff assume it’s the same policy for everyone.” 

EveryYouth is urging social housing providers to end the discriminatory practice of collecting rent in advance from young people in receipts of benefits. 

Mr Connolly says: “We urge housing associations to contact us so we can work together to better support young people from homelessness backgrounds into affordable homes. The young people we support need to rebuild their lives with a clean slate, free of debt, and social housing must be a realistic and viable option for them.” 

*Name has been changed.