Streamlined flooring for social housing from Carpetright

Carpetright has partnered with charitable funds administrator Charis to make the selection and installation of flooring in social housing more accessible.

Claris is an organisation set up to safely distribute financial support and assistance to vulnerable people and those in hardship especially in relation to utility bills. It was founded by The Anglian Water Trust alongside the EDF Energy and British Gas Trusts.

The difficulty in finding and booking independent fitters, as well as a lack of clarity between the tenants and landlord are regularly cited as a key barrier to social landlords providing flooring.

Through its agreement with Charis, Carpetright fulfils the entire process directly with the tenant with no need to involve the housing organisation once a Carpetright voucher has been issued. By removing the landlord as a third-party intermediary, the transaction is simply between Carpetright and the tenant in the same way as any other customer/supplier relationship.

With Wales recently passing legislation that homes must be let with all flooring included, and a growing call for similar legislation to be passed in England and Scotland, this partnership presents a massive saving in time and resources for social housing organisations. Additionally, tenants can enjoy the benefits of flooring that they have chosen themselves.

“By law, UK social landlords have to provide flooring in bathrooms and kitchens, but that often leaves families living on bare floorboards throughout the rest of the home. In fact, some 1.2 million people in the UK have no flooring in bedrooms and living rooms,” commented Charis director of client services, Jonathan Hunt.

“By facilitating the supply and the fit of the flooring for social housing tenants, the process itself can be completed with a much faster turnaround. The tenant is completely empowered to make the flooring selection according to their own taste,” he added.