Scheme to house NHS workers welcomes 200th tenant

An estate agent who offers a small discount to landlords who rent exclusively to NHS workers in Cornwall has welcomed his 200th tenant.

Philip Norgan, from Truro, has been running the scheme since 2021 and said there was a "demand" for housing for NHS workers.

Healthcare assistant Chinedu Nwoye said he was "really amazed" at the scheme as he became the 200th tenant to be housed.

A spokesperson from the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust staff "struggled to find suitable and affordable accommodation", and it did its best to "support them in their search."

As part of the scheme, landlords offer reduced rent in return for lower fees.

Mr Norgan said he gets around 60 enquiries in the first two days of a new property being listed online on the open market, regardless of the size and location.

"Since we started this we've now got 51 NHS landlords, but we've had a lot of existing landlords who say they would like to jump on board and [for us to] find an NHS tenant for them," he said.

Mr Nwoye recently moved into a property near Royal Cornwall Hospital.

After his previous landlord sold the property he was living in, Mr Nwoye and his wife needed a new home.

"The places were way cheaper than we expected, and we were actually surprised and thought it was a joke.

"But we went for it, did a viewing, and it was all the same, we are really amazed," he added.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust said NHS workers in Cornwall had access to its private Facebook group and property emails.

A spokesperson added: "These provide registered employees with timely updates on available properties often before letting agents and landlords have shared their properties on the open market."

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