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Labour to call on government to drive out ‘unscrupulous’ exempt accommodation providers from sector
Labour is set to call on the UK government to implement “emergency measures” aimed at improving the quality of exempt accommodation and drive “unscrupulous operators” out of the sector.
In an opposition debate scheduled for later today, Labour will put forward the issue of the quality of homes and care in the exempt accommodation sector and call for action to secure immediate improvements in this type of housing and associated support.
In the order paper for the debate, Labour said there had been a significant increase in exempt accommodation under successive Conservative governments and that this has provided opportunities for “unscrupulous operators to exploit vulnerable individuals for financial gain and at the taxpayers’ expense”.
Exempt accommodation is a type of housing that is often used for people who are considered to be hard to house, such as prison leavers, recovering addicts, refugees and those fleeing domestic violence.
Since a small level of support is required, this type of housing is exempt from usual Local Housing Allowance caps, meaning providers can often charge very high rates of rent which are well above usual housing benefit levels.
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One approach to exempt accommodation sees registered providers commission managing agents to provide the housing and management services, while keeping a small management fee for each claimant.
This type of housing can also be provided by private providers, usually in the form of charities or community interest companies.
In some cases, organisations provide invaluable housing and much-needed support, but there have been a number of concerns about the conditions that some people are being forced to live in and accusations that some providers are taking advantage of the system.
Birmingham Council previously said it had found evidence that some providers were linked to organised crime groups involved in drugs and modern slavery.
In recent years, the number of exempt accommodation claimants across the country has ballooned. Homelessness charity Crisis estimated that there are currently 150,000 people living in exempt accommodation – up 62% from the 95,149 living in this type of housing in 2016.
In a report released by Crisis, it branded this type of housing as “dangerously unregulated” and called for greater regulation.
In the order paper, Labour said that it recognised a number of factors had resulted in its boom, including lack of social housing and housing-related support, new barriers for single adults accessing social housing and weakening of regulation.
The party will call on an urgent response from the government and implement a wide range of emergency measures, which are understood to include an introduction of a licensing scheme and new national standards for providers.
An opposition day debate allows the opposition time within the House of Commons to raise a particular issue of its choosing and discuss the issue among MPs. This will require housing secretary Michael Gove to respond directly to the issue.
The debate comes two days after more than 40 housing bodies, including the National Housing Federation and Crisis, signed a letter demanding urgent reform to the “under-regulated” exempt accommodation sector.
The government has previously said that it “recognises the problems” with exempt accommodation and is considering whether increased regulation of providers is required.
A DLUHC spokesperson said: “It is completely unacceptable for any landlord to abuse the Exempt Accommodation system and we will not stand for it.
“We recently ran pilots in five areas of England, backed by £5.4 million, to crack down on rogue landlords - including increasing inspections and enforcement of accommodation standards.
“We are urgently reviewing their findings and will continue to take action to ensure that supported housing is of good quality and provides the right support for residents.”
