Latest Episode

Episode 9: Letting to refugees and help with hoarding

No-one can fail to have been moved by the sight of tens of thousands of Afghan people flocking to Kabul Airport following the fall of the city to the Taliban in August.  

The UK Government is funding a scheme to welcome and house up to 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan with 5,000 expected in the first year and this month presenter Richard Blanco (@richardblanco_) talks to Dr Krish Kandiah, (@krishk) Director of charity coalition Afghan Welcome about how private landlords can help.  

Krish and Richard are joined by landlord Jo Sherring who houses a refugee family from Syria and is about to house an Afghan family in need of a home. She talks about her experiences and what you can do if you want to get involved.   

Elsewhere in the show Dan Cumming of the NRLA advice team talks about the hot topics on the phonelines throughout the month, including questions about property inspections.  

Later in the show we look at hoarding disorders. It is estimated that hoarding is an issue for around 6% of people – and with 4.5million people living in the PRS there is a chance you could have a tenant who is affected.  

We talk to hoarding expert Jo Cooke of Hoarding Disorders UK (@hoarderdisorder) about signs to look for and advice on how to approach the issue while supporting your tenant. She is joined by expert trainer Jack Moore (@respectmystuff) who will be delivering a new NRLA course on hoarding and how to deal with it.   

If you enjoy the show, please spread the word on your social media channels using the hashtag #listenuplandlords.   

For all podcast enquiries email press@nrla.org.uk   

ACCREDITATION: You can now pick up a CPD point to be used towards NRLA accreditation by listening to the podcast. To log your point, visit the accreditation dashboard in the ‘Your Account’ section of the NRLA website. Select ‘Other’ then ‘NRLA Podcast’ from the dropdown menu.  

More information  

To read a full transcript of the show click here.   

To watch a pre-recorded webinar outlining how landlords can get involved in the scheme to rehouse Afghan refugees click here.  

For more information regarding the new NRLA hoarding course click here.  

Guest Biographies   

Krish Kandiah  

Dr Krish Kandiah is the Director of Afghan Welcome, a coalition of charities and civil society groups working together with the UK Home Office to offer Afghan refugees the support they need to start a new life in the UK. For more information on the group and how you can get involved with their work visit afghanwelcome.org.   

Jo Sherring  

Jo is a landlord from Wimbledon, who has worked with refugee charities since 2015 and helps coordinate Epsom & Ewell Refugee Network (www.epsomrefugeenetwork.org). Jo is also lead sponsor for a Community Sponsorship group and is happy to talk to any landlords who have questions about housing refugees. To contact Jo email epsomrefugeenetwork@gmail.com  

Jo Cooke  

Jo Cooke is a Director of Hoarding Disorders UK CIC and also runs her own decluttering business Tapioca Tidy. She is also the author of the book Understanding Hoarding, a manual for hoarders, their families and agencies that work with people exhibiting hoarding behaviours. She has appeared in the Guardian newspaper, Take a Break magazine and other publications and on BBC Radio and BBC Sounds and on BBC Breakfast and ‘Inside Out’. Jo was selected as a finalist for the Thames Valley Venus Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.  

Jack Moore  

Jack Moore specialises in dealing with hoarding disorder and is a popular speaker at national safeguarding events and conferences. Jack is the Chartered Institute of Housing’s national trainer on hoarding and will be delivering the NRLA’s new course on hoarding. For more information on Jack and his work visit respectmystuff.org.uk.  

Previous Episodes

Episode 1. A new beginning - is this the shape of things to come for the PRS?

Episode 2: Boosting energy performance and the furnished/unfurnished debate

Episode 3: Adaptation crisis in the PRS? As well as top tips for becoming a young landlord

Episode 4: Debt management in a pandemic – and keeping your tenants safe

Episode 5: TV’s Martin Roberts talks buying at auction and online agents take on the high street

Episode 6: The state of the courts post-Covid-19 and ethical lettings

Episode 7: Tackling anti-social behaviour and transforming commercial buildings into new homes 

Episode 8: Landlords on the cladding crisis and how to manage remote lettings