Petition in battle to end landlord housing crisis
City paying price as vulnerable people sent from other areas
APETITION has been launched calling on the government to provide better protection to vulnerable people in ‘exempt accommodation’.
The campaign comes after it was revealed that vulnerable people from outside other parts of the country are being dumped in the city, with organised crime groups also reportedly involved.
‘Exempt’ accommodation is an unregulated type of supported housing, where landlords are paid rent directly by the Department for Work and Pensions in exchange for providing ‘support’ for tenants, who often include prison leavers, rough sleepers and refugees.
The petition, launched by Councillor Sharon Thompson, Cabinet Member for Housing and Neighbourhoods, and Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood, calls on the government to adopt five measures, these being:
1) Adopt a national Charter of Rights and Quality Assurance Framework, such as the ones adopted by Birmingham City Council, to help to create a register of good quality Exempt Accommodation providers. 2) Bring about legislative change to give Local Authorities and the Regulator of Social Housing greater powers of enforcement over rogue landlords and strengthen the vetting process to prevent rogue landlords gaining licenses.
3) Increase funding for Local Authorities to ensure that they are able to fund appropriate inspection programmes for all Exempt Accommodation properties in their region. 4) Give Local Authorities the power to reject applications on grounds of oversupply in a specific area and insist that a Community Impact Assessment is carried out before an application is approved.
5) Ensure that individuals and families housed in Exempt Accommodation have a link to the area where they are being placed.
Figures show that there has been an increase of nearly 6,000 exempt accommodation claimants since 2019, with the largest spike coming during the pandemic.
The Post’s sister paper, the Birmingham Mail, recently started a campaign to overhaul the system, asking that all landlords and agents be vetted, that the standard of care be raised, and that a watchdog be given proper powers to help clamp down on bad behaviour.
And Cllr Thompson believes that, while the council is attempting to deal with the issue, it needs government support to truly tackle it. “Here in Birmingham we have seen a huge rise in the number of Exempt Accommodation properties in recent years, with many being poorly-managed,” she said. “We need the Government to give us powers to manage the sector properly, and crucially, to ensure that the law is changed so that the level of support offered in Exempt Accommodation is of an appropriate standard.”
“The proliferation of poorly-managed Exempt Accommodation isn’t just a scandal waiting to happen - it’s a scandal already unfolding in communities across Birmingham,” added Shabana Mahmood MP.
“Rogue landlords presiding over a rapidly growing sector, providing little to no support for vulnerable residents, are reaping the dividends of a system ripe for exploitation.
“In Birmingham, nearly 19,000 exempt accommodation units exist in the sector.
“Some of those will belong to good providers, but an increasing number of cowboy operators are building vast portfolios of properties and causing misery for residents, with issues of organised crime and anti-social behaviour thriving.”