Right first time

But Newcastle City Council has defined these young people as being in priority need since the early 1980s. That makes it a good case study for research into the factors that affect the likelihood of success or failure of independent tenancies for this age group, who often find that money worries, peer pressure and a general lack of life experience make it particularly tough to keep their homes.

Over 21 months ending in 2000, I was involved in doing exactly this. The research showed that the seven most important factors in making a tenancy succeed are as follows.

1. A regular source of benefit income

Our research showed that this, rather than continuing in education or receiving a training allowance, was a factor in a greater number of successful tenancies – which seems to contradict the government's view that social exclusion is most effectively tackled by encouraging young people to participate in education and training.

Of course, support with getting benefits is unlikely to overcome social exclusion in the longer term, but young people appear to need a period of coping with the new responsibilities of an independent tenancy without the extra pressure of regular "economic" activity.

2. Plenty of supportive friends

Young people who said they did not have "quite a few" friends were particularly likely to fail in their tenancies, as were the small minority who said they did not have control over visitors to their property. In fact, the factor that most affected whether a young person succeeded or failed was if they said they had ever tried drugs, which may be a reflection of peer group influence.

Efforts should be made to provide young people with advice about independent living that they may not perceive to be important: advice about rent obligations, tenancy conditions and being assertive with friends.

3. Some furniture

Part-furnished, rather than unfurnished, accommodation (particularly in the case of young lone parents) helps tenants to settle in. Newcastle council worked out with tenants a basic package of furniture that could make the difference between a successful or failed tenancy. For a single person, this includes a bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, cooker, dining table and chairs, crockery, cutlery, kettle, teapot and ironing board.

4. A cautious attitude

A striking feature of the research was that many young people moved into their property feeling very confident about their ability to live independently, with only a minority saying they were concerned about the effect on their finances. Six months later, concerns about financial matters had increased and there had been a noticeable decline in confidence.

But those young people who initially took a less optimistic view – because they had regrets about living independently, were aware of limitations in their domestic abilities or had experienced initial difficulties in obtaining benefits, for example – were more likely to succeed in their tenancies. This trend was particularly noticeable among young women.

5. Appropriate support services

Young women were more likely to succeed if they were provided with advice about the responsibilities involved in independent living – particularly their obligations as tenants. In contrast, young men needed reassurance, being more likely to succeed if they felt that they had enough advice about independent living and if they were provided with intensive support.

There is a need to find methods by which the most disadvantaged group of young tenants – particularly young men and those who have stayed in local authority temporary accommodation – can be encouraged to access the support services that are available.

6. A female tenant

Young men experienced a range of disadvantages, from having lower incomes to being more likely to be involved in crime and drug taking. And this greater risk of failure in tenancies became more severe if they had stayed in the council's temporary accommodation, despite an extensive range of support services being available there.

Clearly, this shows that gender differences must be acknowledged in the provision of support services. There should be an emphasis on providing information to young women at an early stage about their responsibilities and the difficulties that are involved in independent living, while giving more ongoing support and advice to young men.

7. The right area

It is as important for young tenants as any other to like the area in which they are housed – being close to family and friends was the most common reason for young people being pleased with their local area. Fears about crime and antisocial behaviour were the reasons most frequently given for feeling negatively, and these two factors also featured heavily in reasons that young people gave for leaving their original tenancy (see Reasons for leaving, above).

Although shortage of property may mean homeless people cannot always be offered property in their chosen area, efforts should be made to rehouse young people close to their sources of informal support. Services that seek to provide a feeling of security – for example, neighbourhood warden schemes – are likely to particularly benefit young tenants.