Vulnerable adults deserve housing that supports their transition to happier, more independent lives

The new government has no shortage of challenges to tackle when it comes to housing. Homelessness more than double what it was in 2010; the slow progress of post-Grenfell cladding removal works; years of delays on leasehold reform and renter’s rights; and not enough houses being built.

At the margins of the national debate about housing, is what happens to vulnerable adults at risk of homelessness who would otherwise struggle to find a home in the private rented sector. This group often includes care leavers, offenders, people with substance misuse issues, mental health issues, learning disabilities, and refugees.

In recent years a little-known sub-class of supported housing that is meant to support these people, called exempt accommodation, has grown rapidly in many cities, such as Birmingham where I am an MP. The growth of social issues around these properties has highlighted how badly vulnerable users and local residents are often being let down.

Exempt accommodation is exempt from Local Housing Allowance (LHA) because an element of care, support and supervision is supposed to be provided to claimants, although it often isn’t. As a result, organisations providing this type of accommodation can charge very high rates, which has led to many unscrupulous providers coming into the market in recent years.

I have seen for myself the poor state of many of these properties. In 2021, I worked with residents, the police and the Council to shut down an “exempt” hostel called Saif Lodge – its closure was the first ever case of its kind in the country – which had become the epicentre of crime and antisocial behaviour incidents in Edgbaston.

25 men and women, including ex-offenders, were housed together with severe issues ranging from addiction and substance misuse issues to mental health problems. Conditions inside were utterly substandard—cold, filthy and cramped. Access to the property was via a code that was regularly shared with strangers who were always in and out of the property. And just one solitary support worker on duty on weekdays.

This was not a place where any of us could happily live, let alone get a life back on track following a crisis.

While we were successful in securing an order to shut Saif Lodge down, many more of these properties can be found all over Birmingham. In fact, the latest Council data reveals nearly 9,000, housing 28,000 people, exist across the city. That number of people living in these properties has nearly trebled since 2018.

I and other colleagues were successful in bringing this issue to the last government’s attention, securing an opposition day debate in 2022 and ultimately a Select Committee Inquiry, which recommended sweeping reforms to the sector. There are a host of issues: the system is disjointed and perverse; data has not been routinely collected on it; and fundamentally there is no robust regulatory regime to ensure that providers are providing the support to residents that they need in exchange for the inflated rents they can receive. Whereas there is good provision, which is often run by bonafide supported housing organisations, nearly half (45%) falls below the Council’s own minimum standards.

That is why this week I secured a debate in Parliament to urge the Government to get on with the job of reform, to set mandatory standards that Councils are able to enforce. Among the reforms so desperately needed are new licensing powers for Councils to manage and maintain standards in their patch; a clear set of national standards for the “care, support and supervision” providers must give to residents, to replace the hazy “more than minimal” test set in existing legislation; and more funding for Councils to enforce this.

Vulnerable adults deserve a supported housing system that supports their transition to happier, more independent lives. Our communities in Birmingham deserve neighbourhoods that are peaceful and safe, not epicentres of crime. And the taxpayer deserves to know that their money is going to support people who need it, not lining the pockets of rogue landlords.

Change is long overdue.