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Regulator blocked exempt accommodation providers from registering

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has previously blocked organisations seeking to provide “exempt accommodation” from registering as housing associations, Inside Housing has learned.

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Jonathan Walters: RSH forced to refuse organisations because of rent levels
Jonathan Walters: RSH forced to refuse organisations because of rent levels
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.@RSHEngland blocked exempt accommodation providers from registering #ukhousing

Jonathan Walters, deputy chief executive of the RSH, said some organisations that provide this type of accommodation could not register as they were not eligible “because rents tend to be at, or above, market rental rates”.

Exempt accommodation is a category of supported housing where landlords are required to provide only loosely defined “care, support or supervision” to residents but can still charge significantly higher rents than for mainstream social housing.

It is often used to put a roof over the heads of people who would otherwise have no option other than sleeping rough, but unlike most temporary accommodation for homeless people is not usually commissioned by local authorities.

Registered providers of social housing may enter short-term lease agreements with private landlords or property owners, either directly or through a third party, to provide exempt accommodation.


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Mr Walters said that most applicants fail to proceed with the process once aware of the requirement for rent to be below market levels and so only a minority are actively rejected by the RSH.

It is a similar business model to that used by housing associations entering lease agreements with equity investment firms to provide specialist supported housing – a different supported housing category – which has come under intense scrutiny from the RSH over the past year.

A report published last month by charity Commonweal Housing warned that there is little accountability over the quality of exempt accommodation and whether tenants are receiving the right support, meaning homes may be unsafe and unsuitable.

More than 27,500 vulnerable people across seven English cities studied in the report are thought to be living in this type of housing, with around 11,000 of these tenants in Birmingham alone.

Two exempt accommodation housing associations identified by Birmingham City Council – New Roots Limited and Prospect Housing Limited – were added to the RSH’s ‘gradings under review’ list last month, meaning the regulator is investigating possible breaches of its standards.

Three more – Sustain UK, Trinity Housing Association and Expectations UK, which were also identified by Birmingham Council – have been found non-compliant with RSH standards since November 2018.

All five became registered with the RSH (previously known as the Homes and Communities Agency) between 2011 and 2014.

Mr Walters said: “Applicants to register as providers, or intending providers, of supported housing often find it difficult to demonstrate that their rents (before housing management support costs) are below market level.

“Where they lease properties directly from the open market, rents tend to be at, or above, market rental rates. As a consequence, they do not meet the eligibility criteria for registration.

“As the publication Becoming a Registered Provider sets out, most applicants that are unable to meet requirements, including those about levels of rent, decide to withdraw their applications or become unresponsive and so are cancelled.

“The number of applications that we do refuse therefore is a minority of all those made that do not proceed to registration.”

Ashley Horsey, chief executive of charity Commonweal Housing, said: “We are pleased to see the regulator is scrutinising some providers of exempt accommodation. The challenge posed by some providers in this sector is not just their finances and rent levels.

“One of the key findings of our report Exempt From Responsibility, by Spring Housing Association and Thea Raisbeck, and supported by Commonweal Housing, is that the standards of the accommodation and management support in this sector are poorly regulated, with too many tarnishing what should be a prized badge of registered provider status.

“Until this is addressed the many tens of thousands of people housed by this sector will continue to be at risk.”