Life can be tough for tenants, with average UK private rents up by 9% in the 12 months to July 2024, and the average renter on a lower income than the average outright owner or mortgagee, meaning that their housing costs swallow up a much bigger slice of their income.
Despite this challenging climate, compassionate mydeposits customers have in the first three months of the scheme’s partnership with Centrepoint, donated over £66,000 of interest earned on their deposits to the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity. Over 10,000 renters have donated so far, with contributions ranging from a pound or two to over £50. By choosing to donate their interest rather than claiming it themselves, their generosity will be helping to fund Centrepoint’s mission to end youth homelessness by 2037.
“We know that times are tough for many renters at the moment, so we’ve been astounded by their generosity. The substantial sum raised in such a short period of time far exceeds our expectations and we would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who chose to donate the interest on their deposit. Every penny of this money has been donated to our chosen charity, Centrepoint, and we are delighted that these donations will be helping to fund their vital work supporting homeless young people on their journey towards independence and achieving their full potential.”
Eddie Hooker, CEO of mydeposits
“We were so delighted when mydeposits launched this amazing initiative to collect donations for Centrepoint. The amount raised in such a short period of time has completely blown us away! We’d like to offer our heartfelt thanks to every mydeposits customer who donated their interest – big or small. Your generosity is instrumental for homeless young people we support. Thanks to your donations, we can help many more to live safe, independent and fulfilling lives.”
Michael Winehouse, Centrepoint’s Head of Relationship Fundraising
Almost 136,000 young people approached their local authority for help in 2022-23. That’s one young person becoming homeless every four minutes.
But Centrepoint knows that is just the tip of the iceberg as many more young people won’t have approached their local authority for help. The real number of young people experiencing homelessness – not having a safe place to call home - is likely to be significantly higher.
How can tenants donate their interest to Centrepoint?
If a tenant’s deposit is held with mydeposits in their Custodial deposit protection scheme, after 182 days the tenant will earn interest on it. This means that at the end of their tenancy the tenant might receive interest in addition to getting their deposit back.
Since the launch of Total Property earlier this year, mydeposits has facilitated tenants’ ability to donate any interest accrued from their deposit to youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint, at the end of their tenancy, instead of claiming it for themselves. So far, tenants have chosen to donate over £66,000 to Centrepoint and mydeposits will be continuing the scheme into next year to make a long-lasting difference to homeless young people.
Tenants can let mydeposits know if they would like to donate their interest to Centrepoint at any point during their tenancy or at the end of tenancy, on their online account.
About Centrepoint
Centrepoint is the leading charity for homeless young people aged 16-25.
Centrepoint supports thousands of vulnerable young people every year by providing accommodation, teaching valuable life skills, tackling their physical and mental health issues and working with them to get them into education or employment.
The Freephone Centrepoint Helpline is available for any young person aged 16-25 worried about homelessness. It is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.
The Centrepoint Helpline number is: 0808 800 0661
HRH The Prince of Wales became Centrepoint’s Patron in 2005 For more information, please visit www.centrepoint.org.uk.
Donations go a long way:
- £20 could fund a counselling session, ensuring those experiencing a mental health crisis can start receiving vital specialist support that they need
- £120 could fund essential starter packs for 50 homeless young people arriving at Centrepoint’s hostels, ensuring they have fresh bedding, towels, toiletries, cooking equipment and winter clothing
- £250 could support someone on Centrepoint’s Educational Bursary Scheme, paying for course fees and the essential travel costs and items needed to access and engage in an education and training course
