Good homes & neighbourhoods

Trust for London is an independent charitable foundation tackling poverty and inequality in the capital. We are particularly interested in new and imaginative ways of addressing the root causes of London’s social problems, especially where it has the potential to influence and change policy, practice and public attitudes.

Good homes & neighbourhoods: The cost of housing is a key driver of poverty in the capital. Many Londoners do not have access to genuinely affordable housing, which is also good quality and secure. Creating such homes is essential. We also need places which create a sense of community, where people can feel safe and can participate. The wider environment is also vital, from the air we breathe to the open and green spaces Londoners have access to.

What we will fund: *Advocacy work (including campaigning, organising, policy work and research) on issues such as: -Making housing more affordable. This includes: new and existing housing; reducing the cost of housing; and tackling secondary costs such as letting agency fees and tenancy deposits. -Improving the quality of housing and security of tenure, particularly in the private rented sector, including better regulation and reducing evictions. -Improving the provision of temporary accommodation. -Increasing tenants’ collective voice and influence over their homes, and their neighbourhoods, especially the built environment, green spaces and transport. -Improving understanding of public attitudes on renting and affordable housing. -Engaging people on low incomes in planning and regeneration, including of housing estates and neighbourhoods. -Improving the quality of neighbourhoods people live in, particularly the built environment and green spaces, as well as air quality. *Housing legal advice: Legal casework and representation in areas of law that fall outside of legal aid, particularly in relation to the private rented sector. We will only fund organisations who are already undertaking legal casework and preferably hold the AQS at this level or equivalent. We will also fund strategic legal work to challenge unlawful policy and practice in housing. *Action Research: To strengthen and learn about promising approaches to tackling complex housing and homelessness issues in London. Work funded will normally bring in new or additional resources, be risky or challenging, and have a good standard of evidence in support of it. *Improving the capacity and skills of civil society: Working on housing-related issues. This means we will fund second-tier organisations to support other groups to improve their practice, share knowledge and influence.

It takes around four months from the application deadline to our GrantsCommittee decision. We support long-term strategies for addressing poverty and inequality. We occasionally fund work to tackle poverty and inequality which falls outside our programme areas. Organisations will need to demonstrate clearly how the work is exceptional; or that an exceptional need has arisen. Generally, we will only make a few grants under this category each year. You will need to speak to us if you wish to apply under this heading.

We fund organisations undertaking charitable activities. You do not need to be a registered charity. Please note we do not fund individuals.

There is no minimum or maximum size of grant and the amount you request should be the amount you need. However, the average grant will be around £80,000 in total. A number of grants will be for a lesser amount, while some will be for more. We do not normally make grants that exceed £150,000. The amounts may be spread over one, two or three years. For example, if you are awarded a grant of £60,000, this could be £20,000 each year over three years, or £40,000 in the first year and £20,000 in the second. Most of our grants are over two or three years.