Almshouses help fend off homelessness, so why are they ignored?

Those who need support, for a number of reasons are not provided it, which leads to a variety of issues, including, in the most extreme cases, homelessness. Despite our best efforts on the committee, this will be a long fix, taking years of the right policy and long-term investment in all forms of housing.

It is apparent that a collaborative approach is the solution for housing in the UK, and it involves house builders, housing associations, charities and local government working together towards new solutions.

The charity sector, in particular, is one which helps to alleviate the housing crisis and provide homes to those in need. But it is a sector often omitted from these vital conversations.

“Almshouses are perhaps the most plentiful, but most overlooked, example of charity housing”

Almshouses are perhaps the most plentiful, but most overlooked, example of charity housing. This is a surprisingly unknown form of housing which is one of the oldest forms of philanthropy in the UK, dating back well over 1,000 years.

I met The Almshouse Association in parliament recently. It outlined the important work of the more than 1,600 independent charities it represents.

In Britain today, almshouses provide homes for over 36,000 people – fending off homelessness and loneliness, through having a history of facilitating supported living for the elderly, but also families and younger people.

However, as Nick Phillips, chief executive of the association, informed me during our meeting, it is an uphill battle for the charity housing sector, as it is often ignored by policymakers.

Most recently, the National Planning Policy Framework failed to designate almshouses as social housing, putting these charities at risk of being forced towards inappropriate regulation from the social housing sector or governed by new legislation focused on the private rented sector.

While the association supports regulation to protect all tenants, it needs to be appropriate to the governance and scale of the model. Regulated social housing was introduced for large housing associations with thousands of units. Almshouses typically have a dozen.

Another key issue for The Almshouse Association is the exclusion of charity housing from the government’s social housing strategy, meaning charity housing is not provided with adequate support, either financially or regulatorily.

If, for example, the independent almshouse charities across the UK were given access to centralised social housing grants, then this would ultimately lead to almshouses being able to expand and accommodate even more than the 36,000 people they currently house.

“Another key issue for The Almshouse Association is the exclusion of charity housing from the government’s social housing strategy, meaning charity housing is not provided with adequate support”

Other policy issues highlighted by the association include the necessary exemption of almshouses from selective licensing charges, a form of licensing that was developed to control houses in multiple occupation and student accommodation.

It is also important to ensure almshouses retain some level of independence. This uniqueness is what made this form of social housing so successful and is an important feature of charity housing. Also worth noting is that a recent report found almshouses contributed over £40m to the economy through their charitable activities.

My role on the HCLGC means I need to help find solutions to improve the current state of housing in the UK.  Charity housing, including the almshouse model, is well-established and successful in providing homes for people across the UK.

So let’s use the resources and experience of this sector to bring waiting lists down and create long-lasting secure homes for thousands across the country.

Will Forster, Liberal Democrat MP for Woking, and member of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee