WALTHAM FOREST COMMUNITY HUB

The Community Housing Advice Service

We need to raise much needed funds to continue our Housing Advice Service for the benefit of residents living in social housing in Waltham Forest, as our current funding is due to come to an end soon. Our Service receives no funding from the London borough of Waltham Forest.  There is a growing demand for our service, supporting 412 households in 2021 and more recently the figure was 617, but without further funding the service is at risk of closure.

Prior to October 2021 there was no independent legal housing advice agency for residents to challenge housing decisions or to learn about their housing rights.  Following a three year grant from Trust for London, our charity was able to  set up this crucial service in the borough.  The challenges faced by residents of the borough were the following:  

- No access to legal advice and representation to challenge housing decisions

- Universal credit doesn’t cover private rents, leaving residents unable to meet the shortfall

The Community Advice Service Set Up:  

- An advice line open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 to 12, allowing residents to call in and express their housing situations.  

- Referral pathways were set up with external organisations, medical centres, schools and other support networks to direct residents to the advice service.  

Referrals and calls are processed via assessment and triage, and signposted to the relevant organisation for further support, either legal or non-legal.  

Timeline of our Journey

October 2021 – Partnered with Hackney Community Law Centre, set up an appointment service for legal housing support.  

February 2022 – Partnered with Shelter, set up an appointment service for residents in priority need and vulnerable adults.  

March 2022 – First Housing Advice events at the Community Hub open to the public, where a number of partners were invited to set up stalls and residents were able to walk in and gain advice and guidance.  

April 2022 to September 2022 – relationships were created with Citizen Advice for financial support to residents, HEET project for property structural defects, Age UK for elderly persons, and council’s ASB Team.

October 2022 – Following on conversations with councillors concerning mould and damp, the council started the mould and damp taskforce to support council tenants, opening a new referral pathway.  

November 2022 – Partnered with JustLife; Temporary Accommodation Action Group and formed a forum to discuss matters around temporary accommodation. The aim of this forum is to create a leaflet for residents of the borough when facing homelessness and living in TA.  

April 2023 – Partnered with the council’s Private Sector Housing and Licensing team, supporting tenants living in PRS with disrepair issues, illegal eviction and landlord harassment. An appointment service was set up at the hub on a fortnightly basis.  

June 2023 – Housing advice support worker (Rozeenah Baureek) was recruited to support the housing advice service.  

August 2023 – council started the Housing Sustainment Team to support tenants to remain in their homes and income maximisation, following concerns raised on the number of section 21 (eviction notices) issued to residents, cost-of-living, benefit cap, universal credit sanctions and rising rents.  

September 2023 – Partnered with another legal partner, the Legal Remedy Centre due to the high demands of legal housing support within the borough.  

March 2024 – Started an outreach service partnering with the Early Help Family Hub. The early help family hub is open 4 days a week, and the service attends once a week to increase the reach for housing related issues within the borough.  

June 2024 – Started an outreach service partnering with the Marsham Hub. Marsham Hub is a new project supporting single homeless individuals, providing access to shower, food, kitchen and washing facilities. However, the demand for families and individuals that required housing advice support is high.  

July 2024 – First draft of the leaflet completed with the TAAG Forum. The leaflet will be completed in September 2024 and be ready completion to be handed out to hospital, schools and public sector services within the borough to provide residents of the borough with guidance on homelessness and TA.  

Appointments and Referral Pathways

Appointment services:  

- Legal Partners

o Hackney Community Law Centre

o Legal Remedy Centre

- Council Departments

o Private Sector Housing & Licensing team (PRS only)

Referral pathways:

- Council departments

o Housing Sustainment (PRS only)

o Duty to refer

o Damp and Mould taskforce (council tenants only)

o Housing Repairs (council tenants only)

o ASB reporting

- External Organisations

o Shelter (Priority Need and vulnerable adults)

o Forest Churches Night Emergency Shelter (Single homeless – casework)

o Marsham Hub (facilities for single homeless individuals)

o Citizen Advice Waltham Forest (debt and financial advice)

o Early Help Community Centre (Family and social support)

o HEET Project (property structural defect and energy advice)

Outreach carried out by the Service:  

o Early Help Family Hub

o Marsham Hub

STATS AND FIGURES

October 2021 to September 2022, a total of 412 residents approached the service within this period.  

- 153 residents were advised by Hackney Community Law Centre

- 43 residents were advised by Shelter

- 194 residents were given One-Off Advice

- 22 residents were referred to external support organisations

October 2022 to September 2023, a total of 490 residents approached the service within this period.  

- 205 residents were advised by Hackney Community Law Centre

- 3 residents were advised by the Legal Remedy Centre

- 34 residents were advised by Shelter

- 18 residents were supported by the Private Sector Housing and Licensing LBWF

- 1 resident was referred to the Housing Sustainment LBWF

- 208 residents were given One-Off Advice

- 21 residents were referred to external support organisations

October 2023 till present, a total of 671 residents approached the service within this period. There has been an increase in demand for the housing advice service.  

- 242 residents were advised by Hackney Community Law Centre

- 67 residents were advised by the Legal Remedy Centre

- 82 residents were supported by the Private Sector Housing and Licensing LBWF

- 72 resident was referred to the Housing Sustainment LBWF

- 26 residents were advised by Shelter

- 12 residents were supported by Forest Emergency Night Emergency Shelter

- 145 residents were given One-Off advice

- 25 residents were referred to external support organisations

We urgently need to raise funds to meet the growing demand for this service and the shortfall in grant funding that we anticipate this year.