All this week we’re going to be shining the spotlight on our unique Letting service which provides safe accommodation for refugees who might otherwise be homeless.

That’s people like Adam, who was forced to sleep under subways in Newcastle until Action Foundation found him a clean and comfortable home. Adam told us:

“The winter was very bad. I only had a sleeping bag…even with my sleeping bag I was very cold.”

Adam has his own room

Now he shares a three-bedroom house, close to the shops and other essential community facilities with two other newly-recognised refugees and the three men have become firm friends, sharing the cooking, and eating together.

Watch Adam’s story on YouTube

Stability

It has meant Adam, who is from Sudan, has got some stability at last and has been able to pursue his English language course at Newcastle College. He has his own quiet room to study but there’s also a communal kitchen-diner where the three men can relax and hang out together.

Action Foundation is only able to offer this kind of help because of the generosity of our ‘philanthropic landlords’.

They are second homeowners who agree to let their properties exclusively to refugees through our charity for a nominal rent.

Alice is our newest landlord – one of the volunteers in our weekly Newcastle Drop-in who decided to act after witnessing the huge lack of housing provision for people who had just been granted leave to remain in the UK. She says:

“Doing casework, you rapidly discover that people, when they get leave to remain, are not offered almost anything. Sometimes they get hostel accommodation for a while, emergency accommodation but some of them end up on the street, which is obviously where Action Letting can be wonderful.”

Although she hasn’t been a landlord for very long, she’s heartened by the response of the new residents who are understandably very pleased to have a roof over their heads.

Alice, Drop-in volunteer & landlord

“They’re so happy that one of them actually Face-timed their friends to show them the property and give them a little tour to show them how nice it was, so that’s really good.”

First step

Fiona Hall is a long-standing philanthropic landlord for Action Foundation. She says: “For refugees who are single, it’s very, very hard to get that first step on the ladder. If you don’t have money for a deposit, you don’t have the references, you don’t have a previous record, how on earth do you get started?

“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity just to be able to give people that first step-up. It’s like an interim period for them. Once you’ve had somewhere to live, you’re able to move forward and build up your life but the most important thing is to have somewhere to live right at the beginning.”

Becoming a philanthropic landlord can also lessen the headache of renting your home out on the open market. As Fiona says, “I’m responsible for things to do with the outside of the building, like insurance, but Action Foundation looked after all the things you need to put in place as a landlord like electricity and gas certificates, locks on a multi-occupancy dwelling. I’ve been very impressed by their scrupulousness. The properties they have are run in the best possible way and it’s been great to work with them.”

Last year (2024-5) our Letting service housed a total of 109 refugees and our support workers helped 51 residents move on to live independently.

Helen Cowgill, Accommodation Services Manager for Action Foundation, said: “The aim is to plug that gap between people getting refugee status and finding sustainable accommodation solutions. We’re currently supported by 13 generous landlords who make their properties available to us at either a nominal or reduced monthly rent.

“This type of giving allows us to house and support our clients at a critical time in their lives and we’re really grateful to those who choose to help our charity in this way. In 2025 we would like to attract more philanthropic landlords. We would also like to work more closely with our region’s registered housing providers to help our clients move on into independent tenancies.”

For more information about becoming a philanthropic landlord, please visit our Action Letting page  or email [email protected]