Sheffield council leader joins call for reform of 'unregulated' housing sector affecting 1,500 people in city

There were 1,550 people living in Sheffield in this type of housing as of 2018, with numbers rising dramatically, and Councillor Terry Fox, leader of Sheffield City Council, has put his name to this call for urgent reform.

Social justice charity Commonweal Housing and the Local Government Association (LGA) have penned a joint open letter urging the Government to tackle the cases of exploitation of the exempt system and work towards the provision of secure, appropriate, and good quality housing and support for vulnerable adults and young people.

Exempt accommodation is a type of supported housing where landlords that provide “more than minimal care, support or supervision” get significantly higher levels of rent covered by Housing Benefit than under the normal rules.

Ashley Horsey, Chief Executive at Commonweal Housing, said: “For too long, exempt accommodation has operated below the Government’s radar, slowly creating a quiet crisis. Insufficient regulation has enabled some landlords to financially game the system, often at the expense of the vulnerable individuals that it was designed to support.

“Exempt accommodation needs a top-to-bottom review and Government must enact comprehensive reforms to ensure a safe and sustainable future for the sector.”

A recent report by the now closed exempt accommodation provider Prospect Housing showed that nearly £1bn of public funding was being spent on exempt accommodation.

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The exempt accommodation sector provides a home to hundreds of thousands of high-need individuals, including domestic abuse survivors, those recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, former rough sleepers, care leavers, and asylum seekers and refugees. Individuals from these groups are often housed together inappropriately, further endangering their recovery.

The letter calls on the Government to introduce measures to ensure that care, support and supervision meets the necessary and expected quality, and that Government provides local authorities with sustained funding to support services that meet local needs.

Additionally, it asks for the closure of loopholes that allow for exploitation.