What is a Bond Guarantee?
A Bond Guarantee is a written contract signed by the tenant, the landlord and The Bond Board at the start of a tenancy. The contract promises that if the tenant leaves owing rent, has damaged the property or removed items belonging to the landlord, The Bond Board will pay the landlord up to a set amount at the end of the tenancy. There are currently over 600 formerly homeless households living in a private rented property with a Bond Guarantee provided by us.
How it works
The Bond Board provides landlords and Letting Agents with a Bond Guarantee instead of asking tenants to pay a cash deposit.
If we are able to offer you a Bond Guarantee, we can give you help looking for a suitable property and talk to landlords for you about accepting a Bond Guarantee.
You can apply for a Bond Guarantee if you can say yes to all four of these questions:
- Are you 18 years old or older?
- Are you currently homeless or due to become homeless?
- Are you claiming benefits, or are you on a low income and getting benefits to help with your rent?
- Do you have a ‘local connection’ to Rochdale or Bolton?
A local connection includes:
- living and being settled in the area for at least 6 months or 3 years out of the last 5.
- working in the area or having close family members in the area.
Bolton
To apply for help with a Bond Guarantee in Bolton if you are a single person or a couple you will need to complete a referral form, you can get this by contacting the Bolton office on 01204 546130.
When you have completed and returned this we will then invite you for an assessment to discuss your current situation further and to explain how the Bond works for you and what we may be able to offer.
You can contact us directly , or if you have support from an agency, they can do this on your behalf.
If you have a Probation Officer, your Offender Manager should always make the referral for you
If you are a family, please register with Housing options first to get a housing options plan in place. See more details HERE
Once you have applied for a Bond Guarantee, we will:
- contact you to arrange an appointment as soon as we can.
- discuss your circumstances with you and give you advice about your housing options.
- usually, give you a decision about offering you a Bond Guarantee at your appointment.
Sometimes, we need your permission to get more information from other people or organisations about your application before we can give you a decision.
Rochdale
In order for us to be able to help you, you must be getting benefits/on a low income.
Also bear in mind that single people under the age of 35 in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs will only be entitled to the shared room rate of Local Housing Allowance, unless you have an exemption.
- Find a suitable and affordable property to let
- Arrange a viewing
- Contact us following the viewing and we will take some details about you and the letting agent / landlord
- We will speak to the letting agent / landlord to agree setting up a bond guarantee and tenancy sign up date
We can only help with a bond guarantee if the letting agent / landlord agrees to work with us, and to accept you as a tenant.
The Bond Board also manages properties for private landlords and we let these in partnerships with Rochdale Council homelessness team, so if you are working with them, this will open up these properties as a potential solution.
I feel I was given good advice and help with obtaining my flat. Without The Bond Board support, I feel I would have struggled. I would recommend any homeless people out there, go to the Bond Board. There’s help there.
Mary's homeless story
