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Minister unveils new measures to crack down on ‘unscrupulous’ supported housing landlords
A government minister has unveiled a long-awaited package of measures to tackle “unscrupulous” landlords operating supported housing, which could include new laws.
Rough sleeping and housing minister Eddie Hughes said the government would also provide £20m for a three-year Supported Housing Improvement Programme as part of the crack down.
The measures include putting in place clearer definitions for the level of care providers are expected to provide and more power to local authorities to take action against those that exploit the system.
“We are aware of a minority of landlords who charge high rents for poor-quality accommodation and little or no support,” Mr Hughes said in a written statement to parliament on Thursday.
“I wish to inform the house of the government’s intention to bring forward measures to put an end to unscrupulous landlords exploiting some of the most vulnerable in our society.”
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The announcement comes less than a month after more than 40 housing bodies demanded that ministers reform the “under-regulated” supported exempt accommodation sector. The government has also been running pilot projects in an effort to learn how to tackle the problem.
Supported exempt accommodation is a type of housing that enables landlords to charge significantly higher levels of housing benefit-funded rent than normal, while providing a minimal level of tenant support. It is mainly used to house domestic abuse survivors, rough sleepers, refugees and care leavers.
In recent years, the number of exempt accommodation properties has grown dramatically, particularly in hotspot areas such as Birmingham.
Providers of supported housing often operate lease-based models, with the Regulator of Social Housing finding a string of supported housing providers non-compliant in the past few years.
The new proposed measures announced include:
- New powers for local authorities in England to “better manage their local supported housing market” and ensure that rogue landlords “cannot exploit the system to the detriment of vulnerable residents and at the expense of taxpayers”
- Changes to housing benefit regulations. This will “seek to define care, support and supervision to improve quality and value for money across all specified supported housing provision”
- Introducing “minimum standards for the support provided to residents”
Mr Hughes said: “We will introduce any measures requiring legislation when parliamentary time allows.”
He added: “We will work closely with local government, sector representatives, providers and people with experience of supported housing as we develop these measures to ensure they are fit for purpose, deliverable and minimise unintended consequences for the providers of much needed, good quality supported housing.”
On the Supported Housing Improvement Programme, he said this would be open to bids from all local authorities with a prospectus to be published “in due course”.
“The Supported Housing Improvement Programme will be vital to drive up quality in the sector in some of the worst affected areas immediately, while the government develops and implements longer-term regulatory changes,” Mr Hughes said.
In response, Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “We welcome this announcement and we will work closely with our members and the government on the detail, including pressing for much-needed dedicated funding for housing-related support.”
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