Industry News
Exempt housing and support services are a ‘complete mess’, says Commons Committee
T
he current system of exempt accommodation, a type of supported housing that is used to house a range of
people with support needs, is a ‘complete mess’ that is failing too many residents and local communities at the expense of the taxpayer, says a cross-party committee of MPs. Te Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Select Committee’s report calls on the Government to bring forward a series of urgent reforms for the sector, including the introduction of enforceable national standards and compulsory registration, to help boost the quality of accommodation and support services. Te report also calls for action to close the
loopholes in the current system which “offers a licence to print money to those who wish to exploit it”. Te LUHC’s Committee’s inquiry followed reports, including from the West Midlands, of unscrupulous landlords failing to provide the support and care that vulnerable tenants need, or to maintain the properties to a decent standard. Exempt accommodation is a type of supported
housing that is used to house a range of people with support needs, such as homeless people, people who have experienced domestic abuse, prison leavers, and those recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. Te Committee’s report recommends that the Government:
• Introduce compulsory national minimum standards for exempt accommodation, including on referrals, care & support, and quality of housing
• Give local councils the powers and resources to enforce these standards
• Require all exempt accommodation providers to be registered
• Create a National Oversight Committee to
join-up existing regulators and mend the current ‘patchwork regulation’
• Ensure the providers of exempt accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse have recognised expertise to provide specialist support and a safe environment
• Review the system of exempt housing benefit claims and clamp down on the exploitation of the lease-based exempt accommodation model for profit
SHOCKING FINDINGS Clive Betts, Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, said: “While there are many good providers of exempt accommodation, our findings on the state of exempt accommodation are shocking. Te current system is a complete mess which lets down residents and local communities and which rips off the taxpayer. Te Government must act now to help councils to tackle this situation and ensure people get the quality housing and support services they need to move on with their lives. “Te best examples of exempt accommodation
highlight quality housing and specialist services, with proactive staff helping to support residents. However, in the worst cases support amounts to little more than a loaf of bread leſt on the table or a support worker shouting at the bottom of the stairs to check on residents. “Residents and communities are being failed
while unscrupulous providers make excessive profits by capitalising on loopholes in the system. Recently it has been reported in the media that these providers have included organised criminal gangs, who use the system to launder money. It is crucial the Government brings forward reform on a range of areas including on standards, regulation and oversight, and on funding to put
this right. We are not asking for any additional expenditure; we are calling on the Government to get a grip on the vast sums it is paying out without effective oversight”. Te report acknowledges the potential impact
on neighbours and local communities of high concentrations of exempt accommodation, which can attract anti-social behaviour, crime, rubbish, and vermin. Tese impacts also risk undermining local support for supported housing. Te report recommends the Government
take forward planning reforms, and close existing exemptions in legislation, to assist local councils in helping to manage supply in line with need and to balance with much needed family housing in local communities. Te report highlights the lack of data on exempt
accommodation making it difficult to determine how widespread the worst examples are and whether this taxpayer funded system is delivering value for money. Te Committee calls on the Government to organise, within the next year, the collection, collation and publication of a range of key exempt accommodation annual statistics at a local authority level.
Property management industry worth £30 billion plus by 2025
Te UK’s property management services industry is on track to have a market value of more than £30 billion by 2025 as a pandemic slump makes way for consecutive years of steady growth. Te property management services industry
covers all businesses that provide third-party or outsourced services to oversee the management and maintenance of property, as well as tenant relations, on behalf of owners or landlords.
Today, the industry is made up of 22,245
businesses employing 309,172 members of staff, combining to generate a market value of £27.7 billion. Tis value represents an increase of 5.3 per cent since last year but it still is not enough to bring market value back to where it was prior to the pandemic. Te current market remains 4.9 per cent below its peak value of £29.1 billion in 2019, although
18 | HMMDecember/January 2023 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
today’s value is still 26.8 per cent higher than it was a decade ago. Projected figures from Warwick Estates suggest
that 2022’s start towards post-pandemic recovery is paving the way for at least three years of continuous market growth culminating in 2025 when the property management services industry is expected to be worth £30.4 billion, a 9.8 per cent increase on today’s value. If this comes to fruition, it will mean that the
market reaches a higher value than at any other point in the past decade, including its pre-pandemic peak of 2019.
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