Author: John

Because of Capital Letters’ unique pan London scope and experience we have seen the issues facing both our member London boroughs, and the families that we help out of homelessness and Temporary Accommodation (TA), at first hand.

We have been campaigning on behalf of our members and the tenants that we support to try and change the system since 2019.

The National Audit Office (NAO) report into the last Governments Homelessness approach has simply told us what we already know.

We know that “periodically capping and freezing the Local Housing Allowance (LHA)” affects council budgets and the move on rate from TA.

We know that “a lack of housing for social rent (that is, at a cost well below typical market prices) is a driver of homelessness, since households are instead pushed into the private rented sector which is typically more expensive and provides a less secure tenancy. The ending of a private rented sector assured shorthold tenancy is one of the biggest drivers of homelessness, accounting for around 23% of households owed a prevention or relief duty in Quarter 3, 2023-24.”

We know that “[a] lack of housing for social rent limits the routes out of homelessness for households who find themselves in temporary accommodation, as local authorities often cannot find them private rented sector properties in the local area that are affordable.”

And our response is….

We have to make it better.

We could give a long response about seeing just 0.8% of homes in London being even advertised at LHA rates let alone being let at that rate – with 17 people bidding for each property there’s little to no chance of that… We could share the experiences of our member boroughs, who, because of the rising, unaffordable rents are seeing more and more new homeless families in addition to those who are already trapped in Temporary Accommodation (TA). They are now using, on average 61% of their total housing budgets on TA; collectively London boroughs are spending a whopping £90m a month on TA. It’s unsustainable.

First and foremost, there’s not enough homes of any tenure, but the most acute problem is the lack of social rent, affordable rent, or LHA rate rent. The poorest in society are feeling the effects of limited investment in too many aspects of their lives, from the reduction in SureStart centres to housing.

Capital Letters should not need to exist.

In a perfect world, where everyone has access to the housing they need, and can afford, we wouldn’t exist. But the issues facing housing in the UK and especially London are going to take generations to fix, and we will be here trying to change the model, trying to make housing in London affordable for those who need it with our unique partnerships and investments helping Londoners find safe, secure, and affordable homes.

Because a home changes everything.


Capital Letters is a purpose driven, not for profit, private landlord working to end homelessness in London. We source and manage affordable, secure and safe homes for families experiencing homelessness – because a home can change everything. 

We are part of the solution – and you can be too. 

Find out about our Income Collection Officer role by clicking here.


Last year there were 11,880 no-fault evictions in London, an increase of 52% year-on-year.

Based on average occupancy, 27,000 people have been made homeless or put at risk of homelessness in the last year.

That’s enough people to fill half of the Emirates Stadium, or all of The Oval.

There are currently more than 83,000 children living in Temporary Accommodation (TA) in London, and every year, as no-fault evictions rise, that number rises.

All parties must commit to banning “Section 21” no-fault evictions.

No-fault evictions are the biggest cause of homelessness and cost untold amounts in expensive and often inappropriate TA, extra health and education support, extra benefits paid as people struggle to keep jobs, not to mention the reduction in taxes, possibly over a potential lifetime, as employment outcomes worsen for the children stuck in inappropriate and insecure housing.

This isn’t just a “now” problem, for some it becomes a “forever” problem.

Families need a secure foundation to build their best lives, and “Section 21” no-fault evictions take that away.


With the dissolution of Parliament before the General Election it looks like the Renters Reform Bill is now dead…

Months of campaigning work from across the housing sector has come to nothing… for now.

The message is clear, however, we have to remove the spectre of “Section 21” no-fault evictions.

“Section 21” evictions are the biggest cause of family homelessness – often resulting in a family finding themselves living in insecure, poor quality Temporary Accommodation, far from work, and schools, and support services.

Once a family is in Temporary Accommodation (TA) it can take years to find a new settled home. In the meantime education, work, health, and finances suffer… and society suffers.

TA is an expensive drain on the public purse, and whilst in TA many people stop being able to work and are forced to claim more benefits, so the associated benefits bill is increased and there is a reduction in tax paid. Because TA has an effect on health, people need the NHS more, and that adds more pressure to an already struggling system. Because children in TA miss more of their education, more interventions are needed, and there is a greater chance that they will have poorer education and therefore poorer employment outcomes – with less opportunity to contribute to society in the
long run…

A single “Section 21” eviction could cost society hundreds of thousands of pounds.

This is all without the moral question of “do we want a society where we let this happen?”

We urge parties of all sides to commit to scrapping “Section 21” no-fault evictions and as soon as possible.


London rents rose by over 10% in the last 12 months according to the Office of National Statistics.

Whilst this is less than the previous month’s figure of 11%, it remains a significant indication of the pressure London housing is under.

Average rent is now just under £25,000 a year, and the average household income is just over £32,000 a year. There is an obvious difficulty in those numbers – an average family paying the average rent will have, on average, £7,000 a year left over for everything else…

The rental system in London is broken, and that’s where Capital Letters comes in. For the last 6 years we have been building the foundations of a new system that prioritises ethical practice, and societal good – helping Londoners who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness to build lives in secure, stable, affordable and good quality homes.

In the next 2 years, working with our partner Home Safe Housing, we will be providing up to 2,500 homes that our member London boroughs can use to move Londoners out of insecure and poor quality temporary accommodation or provide a home for those threatened with homeless.

And in this new system, everyone wins…

Boroughs save taxpayers money and the wider public purse on the costs of expensive Temporary Accommodation (c£15,000 per annum per family), our investors receive both a financial return and social return on their investment, local areas benefit from refurbished and good quality homes, residents get an affordable, long term, secure, good quality home in which to build a brilliant life, and London benefits – more children get better education, more people are in better health, more people are settled and able to find work and support, costs for the NHS reduce and the cycle goes on.

We can only do this by being proudly not-for-profit, ethical, dynamic and socially responsible – because we know that a home changes everything.


We are proud to be recognised by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) as an organisation that is building the foundations for better lives in London.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation report “Bringing private homes into social ownership can rewire the housing system” has recognised that the Capital Letters model can be part of the future for London housing.

The report says that…

“central and local governments working together to establish local housing companies in TA ‘hotspots’, which can purchase, retrofit and then let out homes for use as TA at more affordable rents, this would build on the model of Capital Letters…” can be part of reducing costs and raising standards.

“Bringing private homes into social ownership can rewire the housing system” by Joseph Rowntree Foundation

 

Our work, in a challenging and superheated London rental market, has resulted in over 6,500 homes being offered to our member boroughs meaning over 6,500 households have had the chance to leave temporary accommodation and build the foundation of a healthy and productive life by moving to a private rented home and putting down secure roots.

In the next 2 years Capital Letters in partnership with the housing charity Home Safe Housing will be investing £750m – the current size of the Local Authority Housing Fund – providing up to 2,500 refurbished, high quality rental homes for Londoners. Most of these homes will be offered at LHA rate to those who are experiencing homelessness and are in temporary accommodation.

Settled housing comes with a host of benefits, from improved educational results to improved health and wellbeing. This isn’t about saving money on TA, it’s about saving money in the NHS, in benefits, and increasing employment outcomes, so raising money on taxes, and empowering people to live their best lives.

The last few years have been extremely challenging supplying LHA rate homes. LHA up until April 2024 fell dramatically short of the 30% of local market rates that it was designed to cover, indeed on specific days in London it covered 0.2% of local market. Our inclusion in this report is a testament to the forward-thinking boroughs who created Capital Letters, and of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Capital Letters is a proud disruptor in the housing sector. Since we were founded Capital letters has pushed for systemic change to the way in which the housing and homelessness crisis is addressed, identifying solutions which will result in more homes for Londoners desperately need them.

We are already starting to rewire the housing system by partnering with private ESG investors to provide social and affordable homes as an ethical private landlord.


Capital Letters is a purpose driven, not for profit, private landlord working to end homelessness in London. We source and manage affordable, secure and safe homes for families experiencing homelessness – because a home can change everything.

We are part of the solution – and you can be too.

Our growing team needs a passionate, talented, and committed Health and Safety Compliance Manager to help may 2,500 properties into 2,500 homes!

Apply here


Capital Letters is a purpose driven, not for profit, private landlord working to end homelessness in London. We source and manage affordable, secure and safe homes for families experiencing homelessness – because a home can change everything.

We are part of the solution – and you can be too.

Our growing team needs a passionate, talented, and committed Health and Safety Compliance Manager to help may 2,500 properties into 2,500 homes!


Capital Letters is a purpose driven, not for profit, private landlord working to end homelessness in London. We source and manage affordable, secure and safe homes for families experiencing homelessness – because a home can change everything.

We are part of the solution – and you can be too.

Our growing team needs a passionate, talented, and committed Housing Coordinator to help may 2,500 properties into 2,500 homes!

Apply here – https://bit.ly/3JFvuaS


Capital Letters, the independent commercial not-for-profit company owned by London boroughs and the registered housing charity Home Safe Housing are bringing up to 2,500 high quality affordable rental homes to London in a ground-breaking partnership.

There are over 60,000 households in London that are experiencing homelessness, and there has been a 70% increase in the number of families in Temporary Accommodation over the last 10 years. This is at a time when the number of new affordable homes being built is collapsing – there has been a year on year drop of 76% in the new homes being built by the Capital’s largest Housing Associations.

Against this backdrop Capital Letters and Home Safe Housing are finding new ways of bringing homes into the rental market, by delivering good quality affordable homes to tackle London’s housing crisis.

Each of the 2,500 homes will be refurbished by Home Safe Housing and brought up to Capital Letters Agreed Standard* and EPC C or above as part of its £750m investment.

The majority will be let at LHA rates to households in London who are experiencing homelessness, providing vital safe, secure, and affordable homes. The market rent properties will be offered on the open market; they will also be available to Capital Letters’ member boroughs, and they will be able to nominate working families who are experiencing homelessness for those homes.

“This partnership with Home Safe Housing is a great for London families,” said Capital Letters’ Chief Executive Sue Edmonds. “When Capital Letters was created, it was intended that the Company would be a landlord and with Home Safe Housing it can now successfully achieve its ambitions.”

“The focus in Capital Letters’ early years has been on successfully procuring nearly 6,500 homes for our member boroughs to use for homeless families who desperately need them. We achieved this success by working with individual landlords. Now the London rental market has changed so dramatically, we have focused our service on being a great landlord and providing these homes ourselves, which is a better way of meeting the increasing demand. This groundbreaking partnership with Home Safe Housing is the latest step in that strategy.”

The registered charity Home Safe Housing was conceived by Prowgress, a Hague based social impact fund and UK Structured Finance, a social investment banking boutique, to deliver affordable homes across England.

Home Safe Housing CEO, Jared Fox, said “We are delighted to be partnering with Capital Letters on this initial £750m investment in London’s social housing stock. As a not-for-profit company Capital Letters shares our social mission of alleviating homelessness and has the pedigree to ensure a robust and well governed project.”

“We know that together we can ensure the investment made will change lives for families in London, with thousands of homes being added to London’s affordable housing stock in perpetuity and that the project remains financially viable for investors.”

Sue Edmonds, Capital Letters CEO said, “Capital Letters exists to help alleviate homelessness and to provide increased value for money to the public purse. By partnering with Home Safe Housing and having a mixed economy portfolio, which includes market rent as well as Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rent homes, we can work together to support Capital Letters’ member boroughs, providing affordable housing to alleviate homelessness, built on a sustainable, financially viable independent business working with a like-minded ESG investment partner.”

The initial 2,500 properties will be procured over the next 2 – 3 years in a leasing deal that will run for the next 40 years with Capital Letters able to purchase some of the properties for £1 at the end of the period, ensuring that these homes will remain available to Londoners in perpetuity.

Paul Doe, Chair of Capital Letters Board of Directors, said “This deal shows the strength and ambition of Home Safe Housing and Capital Letters and the determination of both partners, to achieve their shared vision. This is what Capital Letters is for, to find ways to bring long term, good quality, affordable housing to Londoners in need whilst reducing the financial pressure on member boroughs.”

Cllr Meric Apak, Cabinet member for Better Homes, London Borough of Camden and Chair of the Capital Letters’ Boroughs Representative Body – the body that works with Capital Letters Board of Directors and Executive on behalf of the 10 Member Boroughs – said “This is the culmination of a lot of hard work and effort. To see it come to fruition is excellent, because this partnership between Capital Letters and Home Safe Housing means more affordable homes for people in need in London.”

*The Capital Letters Agreed Standard is a quality standard above Decent Homes Standard and is agreed by Capital Letter’s member boroughs. This is designed to raise the quality standard and safety of private rented homes across all London boroughs.