Bonds and loans from Great Yarmouth help with rent deposits

There are two ways in which rent deposit help may be found in Great Yarmouth. The first is from the Deposit Bond Scheme, which is a form of insurance. Another source of funds, though less common, is the local welfare scheme. Both of them are used to help prevent homelessness by providing rent deposit assistance.

Both of the schemes are discretionary in nature. The local authority has a limited of funds to provide to eligible families and they are not required by law to assist. This means that if a resident is homeless and out of all other resources, then the council may help them, but they are not required to.

The Deposit Bond Scheme is the more common source of assistance. The main criteria for this includes the landlord needs to agree to the guarantee instead of cash and the applicant also needs to be able to pay future rental costs on their own.

Other criteria include the bond will only help with rental deposits for private housing in Great Yarmouth. While the tenant will need to pay future housing costs on their own, the local authorities will insist that the rent is affordable. They will not help pay the deposit on a flat that is exorbitantly priced.

The council will review the applicant’s tenancy history as well. They will require that the resident does not have a past history of evictions as there is no reason to help with the deposit on a new home if they will just fall into rent arrears again. If there is a history of poor tenancy agreement adherence, then the council may instead decide to issue a loan from the welfare scheme below.

The second source of rent deposit assistance in Great Yarmouth is from the local welfare scheme. This too is discretionary. The local council will set the budget for this programme each year, and once funds are gone, no one else can get help.

Housing assistance is also a low priority for the use of welfare money. Instead the authorities will usually provide goods in kind, such as furniture or clothing for the homeless resident. Or they will assist with fuel hook up costs. Deposit help is rare, and when it is provided to a resident a low interest rate loan is usually used.

Welfare will only usually provide up to £500 a most. Even that amount is on the high end. This means that is most cases the prospective tenant needs another source of funds for the balance of the deposit.

Not matter which scheme is used, the tenant will benefit from the Great Yarmouth programmes. The tenancy agreement will normally last 6 months, so this provides the family accommodations and gets them off the streets or stops them from sleeping on a couch. Maybe much more important is the free advice provided on housing issues. If there are ever any problems, whether financial or legal, that arise during the tenancy agreement then the authorities are there to assist.

Great Yarmouth private sector landlords will also benefit by having their property rented. Also, if the bond is used, then the council will guarantee it, so the property owner has the solid backing of the government. Also, the authorities will not only provide the landlord funds for the deposit, but the future rent on the property can be paid by the tenant’s housing benefit by having the cash paid directly into the property owner’s bank account

For more information on these schemes, the Great Yarmouth Borough Council office is at Town Hall, Hall Plain, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR30 2QF. Or ring the authorities at 01493 856100.