Pledge to limit hostels in city’s trouble hotspots

A HOUSING provider that oversees hundreds of shared homes across Birmingham for vulnerable and homeless people has promised to not open any more in ‘saturated’ hotspots.

Reliance Social Housing CIC, responsible for housing and supporting thousands of tenants in socalled ‘exempt’ properties, made the pledge after a Birmingham Mail campaign highlighted the impact on some communities.

The largely unregulated ‘exempt’ sector has exploded in the last three years with scores of family homes converted into rooms for rent for people deemed ‘hard to house’.

These include rough sleepers, addicts, ex-prisoners, as well as people with mental health issues, people fleeing abuse and care leavers.

Well run exempt properties offer a chance for tenants to get back on their feet and prepare for more independent living – but, when badly run, tenants are given little support and the impact on neighbourhoods can be profound.

Erdington, Stockland Green, Washwood Heath, Sparkhill and Handsworth are among the areas that have seen the biggest growth in this sector, triggering an angry backlash from communities rocked by increasing drug taking, anti-social behaviour and violence.

Now the company behind many of those homes has pledged to cap the number of properties and has written to its managing agents to say it will not work with any looking to open more houses in those ‘saturated’ areas.

But it has not extended that promise to the whole city.

In a letter, Reliance told managing companies which run many of the houses under their oversight: “Until further notice Reliance will no longer accept properties for exempt accommodation in the following areas: Erdington (including Stockland Green), Handsworth, Sparkhill, Washwood Heath.”

It said the cap would apply from August 1. The company did not specify how many properties it operates in each of those areas, but at the end of last year the areas were among those deemed the most ‘full’ of this type of multiple occupation house.

They included Stockland Green – with 380 exempt properties; nearby Gravelly Hill, with 300; Aston with 293; Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath with 279. Erdington had 258, Sparkhill 222 and Handsworth 211.

Reliance bosses said they hoped the move demonstrated they were listening to communities and mindful of the impact.

A spokesman said: “Reliance has taken a responsible and proactive step to introduce measures to help stabilise the impact of saturation.”

The city’s HMO Action Group, a collective of housing experts and residents, welcomed the announcement.

A spokesman said: “With some 5,000 rooms, Reliance is the largest provider of non commissioned supported housing in Birmingham, publicly funded.

“While the HMO Action Group welcomes Reliance’s decision not to open more units in the already saturated areas of the inner city, it is worrying that they have not given any undertaking about the rest of the city. Does this mean they will continue growing their operations elsewhere?

“We believe Reliance should not open any new schemes until Birmingham City Council has finished its review of supported accommodation in the city - there is a need for a proper coherent supported housing strategy in the city rather than providers just locating housing where they feel, without any control or direction.”