Capital Letters has partnered with property maintenance company, EVO Digital Technologies (EVO) to tackle the growing homelessness crisis in London.
The not-for-profit company was established in 2019 in response to London’s homelessness crisis and mounting costs for councils and is funded by the DLUHC. Its partnership with proptech company EVO will digitalise its repairs, maintenance and compliance services through a tenant-driven platform. By automating a large part of the administrative process, tenants will benefit from a faster, more responsive service and Capital Letters can reinvest its time and resources into finding more homes for homeless families in London.
Since its creation, Capital Letters has helped over 4,000 families find a secure home by providing landlords with an easy and efficient way to access suitable tenants across London and ensuring that properties are up to standard.
In March 2022, DLUHC statistics show there were 56,500 households in temporary accommodation in London, 60% of the total across England. Of these, over 38,000 had children (68%). Capital Letters expect this number to rise to 100,000 during the current financial year as the cost of living crisis continues.
The company was created on a pan-London basis to enable boroughs to work collaboratively to combine resources, drive efficiency, equalise access and fair distribution of properties for members, reduce costs and competition for homes while increasing supply, support tenancies to be successful and deliver positive system change for London.
Sue Coulson, CEO of Capital Letters, said: “I am delighted that Capital Letters is partnering with EVO to provide a unique and innovative repairs service which puts tenants at the centre. Innovation is at the heart of what Capital Letters does – driving change and creativity in everything we do. This partnership adds breadth and depth to the company’s range of services as well as supporting our primary objective of finding good-quality, affordable, secure homes so families can move out of temporary accommodation or avoid becoming homeless. Our partnership with EVO will allow us to add further value to our work with our member boroughs, increasing supply to address the homelessness crisis in London, driving up standards in the private rented sector and supporting successful tenancies for both landlords and tenants.”
EVO provides a digital platform that connects tenants and landlords with skilled tradespeople in a convenient and transparent environment, allowing for issues to be resolved in the shortest possible timeframe. The convenience allows issues to be raised and dealt with as they happen, ensuring tenants have a good experience, and landlords do not have a long-term build-up of issues or consequential property damage.
Steven Rae, CEO of EVO, said: “We are proud to embark on this journey with Capital Letters. EVO was born from a desire to improve tenant and landlord experience, as well as to tackle the serious problem of homelessness. I am really pleased that we have found a partner fully aligned with our core values and beliefs. Tenant experience seems to have been forgotten about in recent times but together I believe we can make a real difference.”
