Rental Health Summit Event

Read on to find out more about the event and why we’re working in partnership with TPAS Cymru around private sector tenants’ mental health.

It’s well acknowledged historically that tenants in the private rental sector have access to less support than social tenants.  We already know that people with a mental health problem are 50% more likely to live in rented housing than those without. Research has also shown that almost half of landlords feel there is ‘never’ enough support and information for landlords to assist tenants with mental health problems. But with an increasingly competitive and expensive private rental sector across Gwent (where some people believe the PRS is only accessible to people earning over £26,000) and LHA rates frozen until recently, what support is there when a tenant’s mental health worsens?

Over 55 people including tenants, landlords, letting agents, charities, Local Authorities, and other public sector colleagues came together at Newport Market’s Glass Hall to network and learn about options for supporting our mental wellbeing. We heard real life experiences about how Wales’s housing crisis has affected families and individuals – including how being handed notice on a home caused chronic migraines due to the threat of homelessness and the lack of support available.

Speakers talked about the simple steps that landlords, letting agents and tenants can take to support themselves and each other.  This included understanding tenants’ needs when a property is let and connecting them with similar people to promote positive mental health in shared properties. Mel from Time to Change said, “There is always hope. Small actions can make a big difference and we need to remember that even if you have had mental ill health, you can still lead a productive and fulfilling life.”

We heard from Platfform about how they are now working to address mental health in a person-centred way, including acknowledging the impact of events, experiences and wider society on people’s mental health. They also highlighted what emergency support is available for people in crisis, to avoid having to go to A&E.

Jackie Williams from Aneurin Bevan Health Board’s Public Health team described a new resource called Melo Cymru,which aims to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for mental health and wellbeing information and advice, as well as free self-help resources and courses to help people look after their mental health. The website also provides signposting  to help and support as well as local opportunities and activities to help support your mental health.  Designed in collaboration with mental health experts and the people of Gwent for the people of Gwent. This website is full of evidence-based materials fully approved by the Welsh NHS and is an invaluable resource for everyone in the PRS.

Hoarding is an issue which, while well-known, is perhaps not well understood. This lack of understanding can mean that when people try to help, they can end up doing more harm. Holistic Hoarding talked about their trauma-informed approach to supporting those in the PRS who are hoarding, working in a compassionate way to understand and help the individual in order to support them.

As the event closed, there was a real buzz of new partnerships being forged and of building confidence in our capacity for improvement. One attendee commented,
“I can’t believe I didn’t know about some of these services before – thank you for doing this.”

All resources from the Rental Health campaign are available to download for free on our web site:
Rental Health Campaign Downloadable Guides.
This includes information guides containing details of all the services and organisations mentioned here.

To find out more about The Champions Network or get involved, visit our page or email Anna: anna@taipawb.org