Back in July and September of last year, B&NES Council discussed the Syrian refugee crisis and explored avenues through which it might be able to help in resettling individuals and families who have been forced to flee their homes. As a result of this 25 individuals have now been resettled here, which represents half of the figure of 50 that Citizens UK has asked all Local Authorities to welcome as a minimum.
B&NES Council have now hit a very real stumbling block in the path towards bringing more refugees to safety, in that there is no housing available in which they can accommodate any more families. The council has done some brilliant work in supporting the existing families to resettle and rebuild their lives, but they cannot hope to bring more people to safety unless we overcome the problem of where to house them.
Perhaps you know landlords in the area already, or people who know landlords, or are one yourself.
In order to help, landlords must:
* Own a family-sized rental property
* Be willing to rent out their property for the Local Housing Allowance Rate. The first 12 months of the rent will be paid for by the EU via a scheme for placing vulnerable refugees and subsequent months either through housing benefit or the family’s own earnings
* Be prepared to offer their property as a home for a Syrian refugee family
* Be able to offer a 2 year tenancy (ideally, or 14 months as an absolute minimum) to enable the family to have some stability when they arrive in the UK
If they (or you) have queries or would like further information, please contact @BathRefugees’ on Twitter or ‘@Bath Welcomes Refugees’ on Facebook. Alternatively, email B&NES councillor Alison Millar.