flatmate.com are really excited to announce their latest initiative, Community Hosting.
Community Hosting is about giving back to community and providing accommodation for those really in need.
How does it work? Good question. When you advertise a vacant room on flatmate.com you can choose the option “Community Hosting”.
This indicates that you are letting your vacant room to assist those most in need and the vulnerable in our community.
If tenants can get a helping hand by finding stable accommodation in a safe and secure household, and gain positive references from these experiences, this can truly help to lift confidence in these individuals which can only have an ongoing positive impact for themselves and the community in general.
We are trialing this in the Newcastle / Lake Macquarie district, so if you live in that area, we’d love to hear from you.
How does it work
Hosts register with flatmate.com and Post an ad. When filling out the ad, the Host would check the box that says Community Hosting.
The Host would appear anonymously with limited profile information that would protect the identification of the Host.
Agencies would also register with the platform and act as a reference for their clients (the Tenant). The Agency would appear anonymously with limited profile information that would protect the identification of the Agency.
The Agency could then indicate interest with a Host. A notification would be sent to the Host.
The Host and Agency would then start a conversation to arrange to meet and continue the conversation outside of flatmate.com.
The Hosts would have the option to provide the following services, at varying costs (including for free if they wanted to);
- Accommodation
- Food
- Utilities
Hosts would need to apply, and have various background checks carried out (at the expense of the Host).
Hosts would also be interviewed and their properties would be inspected periodically (where applicable) by a representative of the Agency.
Agencies can search the direct URL here to see the listings that are available.
See “Could an airbnb for vacant properties help our homelessness problem?”