GMCA 1129 Cross-Boundary Tenancy Relations Support

• Greater Manchester is experiencing a major shortage of social housing and significant rental inflation, increasing the incentives for criminal landlords to illegally evict and putting affected tenants at increased risk of homelessness and other harms. The objective of the pilot will be to test the extent to which a cross-boundary tenancy relations service in GM could

o prevent harassment and unlawful evictions of PRS tenants or support tenants making a safe return to their home.

o support improved council enforcement against landlords who harass or unlawfully evict their tenants.

o deliver improved outcomes for the wellbeing of tenants experiencing or at risk of harassment or illegal eviction

• To deliver on this objective, the supplier will work with GMCA evaluators / researchers to quantify and establish what the case is for ongoing cross-boundary tenancy relations support.
• The supplier will work flexibly to prevent illegal evictions, or support tenants’ safe return to their home, or otherwise the best outcome for the tenant e.g. where a safe return is not possible. To do so, the supplier will provide confidential, timely, expert, effective advice and support to tenants who have been referred to the service. How this is achieved will need to be flexible to the specific circumstances of each case, including both sensitive negotiation with landlords and advocacy on tenants’ behalf, in writing, electronic communication and in person, both informally and by seeking civil legal representation.
• All the while, the supplier will act as a trusted support to tenants referred, providing sensitive and personalised information, advice and support, helping them navigate and bridge the gaps within and between partner organisations and public services as necessary. In order to achieve this, the supplier will need to build strong relationship with referred tenants, for example by making home visits, and finding solutions where barriers arise. Building and maintaining effective relationships with pilot local authorities and other relevant services will also be an essential element of fulfilling this role.
• All referrals to the supplier as part of the contract will be made by the local authorities involved in the pilot. The supplier will work with the pilot local authorities to develop and refine the approach to referral, which may vary between local authorities and will need to be flexible, including referrals from officers in homelessness services and enforcement teams.
• To ensure that the pilot local authorities are properly equipped to refer to the supplier and manage unlawful eviction/harassment cases, the supplier will train relevant officers and offer expert advice to them on all aspects of harassment and illegal eviction. This will include, but not be limited to supporting relevant officers to understand the breadth of and identify cases of harassment and illegal eviction, spot early warning signs, understand the validity of eviction notices, etc. We welcome applications where added value can be provided in respect of delivering systems change both within local authority housing options and enforcement teams, but also wider public services.
• To support effective local authority enforcement, the supplier will collect, document, and report evidence of non-compliance by landlords to relevant pilot local authority enforcement officers, ensuring that data is used and stored in a safe and legally compliant way. The evidence reported will meet the needs of the local authority to bring successful civil penalties and prosecutions against criminal landlords. The supplier will work with pilot local authorities to understand their needs in this regard and develop an appropriate approach. The primary focus of this role will be reporting evidence of unlawful eviction, harassment and other forthcoming tenancy related offences contained within the Renters Rights Bill (e.g. failure to issue a tenancy agreement, attempting to use Section 21 where invalid). However, where appropriate as part of a broader case, evidence of other breaches, such as serious disrepair and other criminality will also be reported.
• With testing the concept of cross-boundary support at the heart of the pilot, the supplier will work to provide the services described to three local authorities across GM. The policies, structures, and approaches of each local authority will not be exactly alike, and – within the parameters of the services described – local authorities may have different preferred ways of working (e.g. such as time spent co-locating with council services). The supplier will take a flexible approach and accommodate local authority preferences within the constraints of the contract and budget. A particular contingency that the supplier will be required to develop an effective approach to managing will be the caseload of referrals. Referrals are likely to vary over time and by local authority, with Manchester City Council – the largest local authority in GM – likely to make the largest number of referrals. The supplier will need to work iteratively to develop an approach that offers fairness to each local authority while taking advantage of the economies of scale on offer from running a cross-boundary team.