Life in Salford 33 • June 2021 13
ForHousing pledge support for care leavers Giving young people the opportunity to thrive and flourish in their community is at the heart of ForHousing’s purpose to improve lives. Our care leavers pledge is part of a commitment, with other members of Greater Manchester Housing Providers, to support young people. In Salford alone, we invested £3.5 million in 44 homes as part of A Bed Every Night and our Forfutures team work closely with tenants for two years to link them to training and long-term employment. Before moving to Chariot Close, Freya* lived in supported housing, provided by Salford City Council’s Next Steps team. Now she has a place of her own and her self-belief is growing every day. “The scheme has given me the confidence to know that I can actually live by myself, and it was comforting to know that I had extra support through the scheme," she said We will continue working with other organisations to support care leavers into employment and training opportunities.
We believe every young person deserves a positive start in life and look forward to supporting more care leavers to achieve their potential and open the door to new possibilities. *Name has been changed to protect identity.
New licence rules for shared houses
New rules
Homes where three or four tenants share the property are to be brought under landlord licensing from July. Salford City Council already requires all landlords in areas of Charlestown, Lower Kersal, Langworthy, Weaste and Seedley to have a selective licence. Larger shared homes with five or more tenants (known as houses in multiple occupation or HMOs) also have to be licensed. The new three and four tenant scheme is known as additional HMO licensing. Licensing has raised standards and allowed the council to crack down on rogue landlords. To be approved for a licence, landlords or their agents must show safety checks have been carried out, the property is not overcrowded and proper management arrangements, including recycling and waste disposal, are in place. It is illegal to rent out a property without a licence where one is required or to breach conditions of the licence.
Ninety per cent of three and four tenant HMOs inspected last year fell below required fire safety standards while many were damp and inadequately heated. Most landlords carried out improvements when problems were pointed out but 21 were issued with civil penalties for failing to comply. Please visit www.salford.gov.uk/hmolicensing for more information.
