Feature: Youth Housing - Helping others to feel at home

Situated in a peaceful road in south east London, the three-bedroom house that's home to Keirone, Divine and Lisa* is comfortable and remarkably tidy. The trio are among 17 young Londoners benefiting from the Peer Landlord project, a shared housing initiative being trialled by a partnership of Commonweal Housing, youth charity Catch22 and homelessness charity Thames Reach.

The scheme is aimed at those who have climbed the first rung or two of the education, employment and training ladder, but need the stability of safe and supportive accommodation to keep them moving onwards and upwards.

It grew out of concerns about the lack of suitable housing for those progressing to independence from vulnerable backgrounds, says Commonweal chief executive Ashley Horsey. For many, shared housing was the only option, due to spiralling private sector rents and the controversial "shared accommodation rate" of housing allowance for most under-35s. "Too often, these young people were living in supported housing such as hostels," says Horsey. "The era of being able to move on to a one-bed flat was long gone and there was concern the hostel system was not giving young people the skills to make shared living work for them."