What we do
Boost Up provides a tailored package of support in order to get young people into good quality accommodation that would otherwise have been out of their reach.
Our vision is a City in which young homeless Londoners have the means of getting off the streets within 24 hours, the support necessary to obtain long term accommodation within a month, and the guidance necessary to build their self reliance and recognise their agency.
Rental subsidy
Ikran’s outcome was made possible by the unique package of support that Boost Up provides.
Given that most shared accommodation in the Private Sector costs more than the housing benefit eligible for young people, we can pay a rental subsidy [A ‘Boost Up’] that covers the part of the rent not covered by the housing benefit. In Ikran’s case, this was about £30 a week.
Additionally, given that Landlords are wary of renting property out to people on benefits, we enter into an agreement with the Landlord that we will help the young person with their Universal Credit account and ensure it is paid to cover their housing costs.
This gives the young person the time to get into employment, thereby increasing their income and allowing them to come off both benefits and our subsidy.
Additionally, we also will arrange for the first months rent and deposit to be paid in full, as barely any young homeless person would have this money upfront.
We will also frequently act as the intermediary between the young person and the Landlord, which allows us to ensure that the young person is aware of their rights and responsibilities in the property, and will be there to step into and resolve disputes.
This all means that our young people are armed with more purchasing power, something they lacked before, rebalancing the power dynamic between tenant and landlord to a fairer footing.
This is what Ikran had access to, the breathing space that allowed her the time and space to get into employment and pay the rent herself, which she duly achieved after only a few months.
Rental Guarantor
Young people who are homeless face an enormous barrier to entry into accommodation, even if they can afford the rent:
A guarantor.
To address this, we are proud to have introduced a rent guarantee system, in which we guarantee the rent of a young person for 12 months.
We will then work with that young person to ensure that they pay their rent, which will allow us to then recycle the costs for another young person.
