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Leading housing bodies demand ‘urgent reform’ of exempt accommodation sector
More than 40 housing bodies, including the National Housing Federation (NHF) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), have signed an open letter demanding that ministers reform the “under-regulated” exempt accommodation sector.
In a letter sent to both the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the organisations call on the government to tackle the “exploitation” of the system for housing vulnerable people, including domestic abuse survivors and rough sleepers.
Exempt accommodation is a type of supported housing where landlords can claim significantly higher levels of rent, covered by housing benefit, than normal by providing a minimal level of support to tenants.
It is used to house groups of people including domestic abuse survivors, rough sleepers, refugees and care leavers.
The number of exempt accommodation properties has grown dramatically over the past few years, particularly in a few hotspot areas such as Birmingham, where the number of claimants doubled in three years.
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At the same time, concerns have been raised that unscrupulous landlords, including organised crime groups, are exploiting the system for financial gain.
In the open letter, which was penned by the Local Government Organisation and Commonweal Housing, the growth of exempt accommodation is described as a “gold rush”, with providers capitalising on “loopholes” in the system.
In October 2020, the government announced that it would fund five pilots in Birmingham, Hull, Blackpool, Bristol and Blackburn in a bid to improve standards in the supported housing sector.
But the findings of the pilots are yet to be published. The letter’s authors said that the “pace of decision-making has been slower than we would hope”.
The letter recommends that the government develops a “a strategy for how it intends to make sure vulnerable people receive quality services and do not have to live in substandard accommodation”.
This should include the closure of loopholes that allow the system to be exploited, further strengthening of the role of the Regulator of Social Housing and support for councils to develop their own strategy to oversee the sector, the letter said.
Other signatories of the letter include the Greater London Authority, Crisis, the West Midlands Police and a number of local authorities.
James Jamieson, chair of the Local Government Association, said: “Councils need to have oversight of exempt accommodation, with the powers and resources to crack down on poor providers and ensure this kind of housing and support is of a consistently high standard that meets people’s needs.”
Ashley Horsey, chief executive at Commonweal Housing, said: “Exempt accommodation needs a top-to-bottom review and government must enact comprehensive reforms to ensure a safe and sustainable future for the sector.”
A DLUHC spokesperson said: “It is completely unacceptable for anyone to abuse the exempt accommodation system, which is why we have invested over £5m to support some of the worst-affected areas.
“We welcome this letter, which highlights ongoing issues in the sector that must be addressed and we continue to work with councils to drive out rogue landlords so vulnerable people can access the accommodation and support they deserve.”
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