Their PKC Lets & Ukraine Landlord Offer project was the winner in the ‘Excellence in the Private Rented Sector’ category at the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland Awards in Glasgow on October 27th.

The council’s Private Sector Housing Team put together an innovative package of incentives for local private landlords to make properties in Perth and Kinross available to vulnerable Ukrainian people displaced by the war. The successful scheme has provided accommodation to many families in their hour of greatest need.

The project has increased the supply of homes for affordable private renting in an otherwise challenging market and has prevented vulnerable families from becoming homeless and reliant on temporary accommodation. Encouraging the use of private-rented housing recognises the pre-existing pressures on social housing from local residents.

PKC Lets was launched in 2010 and is one of the only examples of a social letting agency managed and delivered by a local authority in Scotland, helping people seeking accommodation into suitable housing in the private rented sector.

The council’s Housing and Social Wellbeing convener, Councillor Tom McEwan, said: “The Ukraine Landlord Offer has allowed families to settle in long-term sustainable privately rented housing, giving them somewhere to call home and be welcomed into their local community.

“To date this approach has secured over 50 private-rented properties for individuals and families displaced by the terrible conflict in Ukraine. Perth & Kinross Council has developed strong relationships with landlords over many years and we recognise the important contribution that private landlords make to the supply of affordable housing.

“I’d like to offer my warm congratulations to everyone on the team who has worked so hard to make the scheme a success. This national recognition is richly deserved.”