More than 150,000 living in ‘dangerously under-regulated’ exempt accommodation, research finds

The exempt accommodation sector has come under increased scrutiny over the past year, with the Regulator of Social Housing finding an increasing number of providers to be non-compliant.

One of these providers is Prospect Housing, which is being closed down after a new management team found it was unable to provide the level of support expected while still remaining financially viable.

Today, Prospect and Crisis are releasing research on the exempt accommodation sector to coincide with a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ending Homelessness on the matter.

FOI data obtained from local authorities by Prospect led it to estimate that £816m has been spent on exempt accommodation in the past financial year alone.

This figure is based on the responses received combined with what it calls a “conservative estimate” for councils that were unable to provide figures.

Spend on exempt accommodation has risen by over £100m between 2018/19 and 2020/21 said Prospect, based on FOI responses from 52 councils.

Both Prospect and Crisis are calling for increasing regulation of the exempt accommodation sector to ensure providers give tenants an adequate level of support.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: “The exempt accommodation sector is dangerously under-regulated. There are some good providers out there, but so many others are motivated only by money and are able to charge higher rents for essential support they have no intention of providing.

“It is unacceptable that the system lets them get away with it. People trying to end their homelessness, fleeing domestic abuse or tackling complex addiction issues are being forced from one trauma to another – all at huge expense to the public purse. We desperately need stronger regulation to keep the wrong people out of the sector and ensure that quality support and accommodation is provided to people in some of the most vulnerable circumstances.”

Vicky McDermott, chief executive of Prospect, said that most organisations providing supported housing are “dedicated and diligent”, particularly those which are commissioned by local authorities.

She hopes Prospect’s research will help others learn from “the mistake and experiences” of the organisation in order to help them “safeguard the well-being of those vulnerable residents that find themselves in exempt accommodation”.

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “It is completely unacceptable for any landlord to abuse the exempt accommodation system and we will not stand for it.

“Supported housing must be of good quality and provide the right support for residents. That is why we recently ran pilots in five areas, backed by £5.4m, to crack down on rogue landlords, including increasing inspections and enforcement of accommodation standards.

“We are urgently reviewing the findings from these pilots to work out what further action is needed.”