Teesside believes that place-based impact investment begins at home

The Teesside Pension Fund has expanded its involvement with place-based impact investment, after committing £5 million to The Ethical Housing Company, a housing company providing homes to people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness.

Launched in 2018, EHC is run in partnership with community interest company the Ethical Lettings Agency (TELA). TELA was launched in 2016 to let and manage residential properties in the Redcar, Cleveland and Teesside area on behalf of private landlords.

As the companies operate in the private rented sector, they are not registered with the Regulator of Social Housing, but seek to provide better accommodation at the lower end of the PRS market.

The agency manages homes for private landlords – and EHC – through a management agreement, with fixed fees deducted from the monthly rent.

All properties are let on assured shorthold tenancies and TELA uses key performance indicators to minimise arrears and voids, while helping tenants to maintain their tenancies for the long term.

Around two-thirds of TELA’s households are in receipt of housing benefit, while 38% of new lettings went to people who faced homelessness in 2020, this increased to 50% following the first Covid-19 lockdown.

This is the second local investment the Teesside fund has made, after striking a recent deal with a Middlesbrough-based start-up bank.