Migrants living or looking for a home in the private rented sector will be able to get advice online after a £6,300 grant from the TDS Charitable Foundation, set up by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

An existing website, Housing Rights Information, has used the funding to add new pages covering migrants’ access to the private rented sector.

The website, originally set up to provide advice to migrants about social housing, is run by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and BMENational, the body that represents BME housing associations.

Official estimates are that 80% of migrants who have arrived in the UK in the last five years live in the private rented sector, with more than a fifth of private tenants being foreign nationals.

The new pages on the website – which would also be a very helpful resource for letting agents and landlords – cover the Immigration Act 2014, with its requirement that private landlords or their agents check the immigration status of tenant applicants.

The requirement is currently being trialled in the west midlands before a national roll-out.

The Housing Rights Information website is here

* The Tenancy Deposit Scheme has gained complaints management system certification following assessment from the British Standards Institute.

The attainment of ISO 1002:2004 means that the way TDS handles complaints has reached a benchmark in terms of customer service.

The criteria include having a customer-focused environment that is open to feedback and proving an open, effective and user-friendly complaints process.

Chief executive Steve Harriott said: “We are delighted to have attained ISO 10002:2004.

“Resolving nearly 13,000 disputes every year means working effectively with customers in contentious and unhappy circumstances.”

The latest figures released by the Department for Communities and Local Government reveal that TDS has once again exceeded its customer service requirements, and is providing the fastest average call answer time of the three deposit protection schemes in England and Wales.