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Council launches rights and standards charter for exempt accommodation residents
Birmingham City Council has launched a charter of rights and a set of standards for exempt accommodation residents, placing new requirements on providers and managing agents.
The Charter of Rights, developed alongside Spring Housing Association, is intended to make tenants and their families aware of the service they should expect from their landlord.
Birmingham Voluntary Services Council (BVSC) has worked with the local authority to design a set of quality standards for all exempt accommodation providers in the city.
A new team of inspectors and social workers has also been recruited to check that inhabitants of exempt accommodation properties are not being exploited and are receiving the right support.
Exempt accommodation refers to a category of supported housing in which 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, paid by housing benefit.
Providers may enter short-term lease agreements with private landlords or property owners to obtain accommodation and sign deals with third-party managing agents to carry out support and management services.
It is often used to put a roof over those who would otherwise be forced to sleep rough, and while many exempt accommodation landlords provide crucial housing and support to vulnerable people, there are concerns that some providers are offering inadequate support in poor living conditions.
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Birmingham has become a hotspot for this type of housing following a proliferation in recent years, with more than 20,000 units of exempt accommodation across the city mostly not commissioned by the council.
The new charter has been developed following a £1m pilot funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, one of five across England intended to improve standards and value for money in short-term supported housing.
Birmingham used the pilot to put extra resources into scrutinising whether exempt accommodation providers making applications to its benefits department are offering their residents suitable housing and support.
As exempt accommodation is usually provided by housing associations registered with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), councils’ powers to regulate the sector are relatively limited.
Several such housing associations have been declared non-compliant with RSH standards in the past 18 months.
Sharon Thompson, cabinet member for homes and neighbourhoods at Birmingham City Council, said: “Supported accommodation is essential for thousands of people who rely on it to live as independently as possible.
“But it is essential that providers honour their commitment to deliver the right support.
“I’m very proud that we’ve launched the charter of rights and quality standards, which will not only help us to champion landlords who are providing a quality service but also have the resource available to be able to effectively monitor those landlords who are not.
“However, we also need stronger regulation for local authorities, the police and the Regulator of Social Housing.
“This needs to include stronger definitions around care and support so that those who provide poor standards face consequences which will make them change their practices.”
Dominic Bradley, chief executive of Spring Housing Association, said the charter has been designed with input from 50 people who have experienced homelessness.
He added: “We are really pleased to work with Birmingham City Council to support their ambition that everyone living in supported accommodation should have the right to decent living conditions, to feel safe and protected, and have access to the right support at the right time.”
Sharne Maher, head of multiple disadvantage at BVSC, said that the new quality standards “will allow registered providers of housing to demonstrate their commitment to their clients and to providing a quality housing offer through a recognised quality mark and will allow referring agencies to identify those providers delivering quality housing with support”.
