A renovated home for rent through Homes for Good
Homes for Good
How a Glasgow letting agent has turned neglected, empty properties into good-quality homes for 1,000 people on low incomes
GROWTH, REGENERATION & DEVELOPMENT
Greg Barradale
Senior Reporter, The Big Issue
Greg Barradale
Senior Reporter, The Big Issue
Issue 72 | July 2024
The hallmarks of the housing crisis are well known by now: a lack of affordable properties, with what’s left squalid and low-quality, while other homes sit empty. But a Glasgow letting agent is cutting through the Gordian knot holding people in homelessness, and has provided homes for 1,000 people in the process.
Since being founded in 2013, Homes for Good has been on a mission to transform neglected empty houses into good-quality homes for people on low incomes – a “letting agency with a difference”.
“Almost all letting agents see the landlord as their customers. But it’s actually the tenants who are the customers,” says founder Susan Aktemel.
Homes for Good Founder, Susan Aktemel (far left), and team members
Quality homes for low prices
Its model is aimed at addressing a lack of good, low-cost housing in the city. When it launched, just 3% of approximately 500 two-bedroom properties on the market were both affordable and accessible to people on benefits. And the situation has worsened, says Aktemel.
Aktemel sees a clear driver: “At the end of the day there aren’t enough homes to go round.”
The properties Homes for Good renovates are high-quality, with an interior designer working with tenants to create the look and feel of the property inside. All this ensures tenants have a decent quality of life once they’ve moved in. The idea began a decade ago, when Aktemel – a landlord – grew unhappy with letting agents she was working with.
“I realised my tenants also weren’t getting a good deal. I came up with the idea for a letting agency where [I asked] what would it look like if a letting agency was run as a social enterprise,” she says. “There was an opportunity to create something that was far, far better than anything else that was available for people.”
People are living in Homes for Good properties
Of approximately 500 two-bed properties were affordable and accessible to people on benefits when Homes for Good launched
£3.5m
Invested into Homes for Good by Big Issue Invest
Homes for refugees
Homes for Good has even provided a lifeline for a family of Ukrainian refugees. Ina and her son Svet lived in a hotel after fleeing the Russian invasion, with Ina’s husband staying to fight.
Ina and 11-year-old Svet arrived in Glasgow in May 2022 and by August had moved into a property managed by Homes For Good.
The agency provided furniture, benefits and welfare to help them settle in. Now, Svet’s room has been painted yellow, and Ina has joined a Ukrainian street football team, leading them to an international tournament for women.
Big Issue Invest
Big Issue Invest (BII) is the social investment arm of Big Issue Group. BII offers loans and investment from £20,000 to £4 million to social enterprises and charities across the UK.
It currently manages or advises on more than £470 million of impact funds. Since formation in 2005, it has provided more than £80 million in impact loans to more than 550 social enterprises.
For more information about BII’s funding proposition, visit the website or contact us by email.
Social investment
An investment from Big Issue Invest, the social investment arm of Big Issue, has helped Homes for Good buy and renovate more properties. As a shareholder, Big Issue Invest has invested £3.5 million in the social enterprise.
The business can be a challenge – making homes affordable while generating enough income to keep things going in the future. But Aktemel thinks the model can inspire others. “Leading by example is really important,” she says.
