The government has now entered the fray into encouraging private sector landlords with suitable properties to help Afghan families by submitting offers through an upgraded housing portal.

Across the UK private sector landlords are receiving requests from numerous councils to help ‘house’ families who escaped from Afghanistan with many who had helped our troops during the ill-fated Afghanistan campaign.

The government has just announced its new upgraded housing portal so landlords can submit offers of properties for councils to ‘mix and match’ accommodation  to families.

However more offers from PRS landlords are urgently needed to help move the Afghan families from temporary accommodation into their own homes so they can start to properly acclimatise to and build their lives in Britain.

The government has said landlords will be helping over 300 councils who have already promised/pledged places for the Afghan families and has backed the resettlement scheme with £5 million funding.

Minister for Afghan Resettlement, Victoria Atkins, says: “I’ve seen first-hand the incredible support available and am so proud of the way communities across the country have thrown their arms around these families, many of whom put themselves at risk to help the UK and our allies in Afghanistan.

“We know these families need a place of their own so they can truly build a life in the UK, but we recognise that finding settled accommodation for so many people is a challenge.

“That is why today I am urging landlords to join our efforts and come forward with offers of housing so we can help these people settle and thrive.

“Ensuring people have a home to call their own is a vital part of our programme of support to help those who worked closely with UK forces in Afghanistan, risking their lives in the process, so that they are able to begin rebuilding their lives here.”

Atkins says that the UK has already found homes for more than 4,000 Afghans and is calling for more landlords ‘to step unto the breach’ to make sure the remaining families are housed in suitable accommodation.

Suitable accommodation must be fully self-contained and with its own facilities and has to be rented out for at least twelve months with the required safety regulations and landlord obligations.

The government however states that in order to look after as many Afghan families as possible then landlord offers of properties must be housed as near to the local housing allowance rate as possible.

Richard Merrick of PIMS,said: “ Many of us agree with housing these brave families, however there is one major sticking point and is dependant on the local housing allowance rate which in ‘some’ cases is far lower than ‘real world’ PRS local rents.”

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