Rent Deposit Schemes
Case reference FOI2022/01546
Published 9 November 2022
Request
1 Does your Local Authority operate a Rent Deposit Scheme (financial support to residents to help them access accommodation in the private rented sector)?
2 If so, is your scheme operated as:
a) a loan (expectation of repayment),
b) a grant (no expectation of repayment) or
c) a combination of the two.
3 What was the total value of loans and/or grants paid under the scheme in 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22
4 How many loans and/or grants were awarded in 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22
5 If your scheme requires repayment from residents, what was the outstanding debt owed to the Council in relation to the scheme in 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22?
6 Excluding payments detailed in question 3, what is the annual cost of operating the scheme (staffing, administration costs) including debt recovery undertaken by council staff if applicable. (Note: If you do not have the means to calculate an exact cost or if doing to will exceed the time limit for FOI responses, please provide an estimate)
7 Has the Council commenced legal proceedings against residents to recover debt owed in relation to this scheme in the past four years.
8 If so, please advise how many residents have been subject to proceedings during this time?
Response
1 Does your Local Authority operate a Rent Deposit Scheme (financial support to residents to help them access accommodation in the private rented sector)?
A: Yes
2 If so, is your scheme operated as:
a) a loan (expectation of repayment),
b) a grant (no expectation of repayment) or
c) a combination of the two.
A: A combination of the two.
3 What was the total value of loans and/or grants paid under the scheme in 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22
A:
Year Amount No. Of transactions
2018-19 £65,526.00 246
2019-20 £50,160.00 227
2020-21 £64,552.00 235
2021-22 £95,157.00 285
4 How many loans and/or grants were awarded in 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22
A: See answer to Q3 above
5 If your scheme requires repayment from residents, what was the outstanding debt owed to the Council in relation to the scheme in 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22?
A: Unable to calculate as this information is not held
6 Excluding payments detailed in question 3, what is the annual cost of operating the scheme (staffing, administration costs) including debt recovery undertaken by council staff if applicable.
Note: If you do not have the means to calculate an exact cost or if doing to will exceed the time limit for FOI responses, please provide an estimate)
A: Unable to calculate as this information is not held
7 Has the Council commenced legal proceedings against residents to recover debt owed in relation to this scheme in the past four years.
A: No
8 If so, please advise how many residents have been subject to proceedings during this time?
A: n/a
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.