Briefings and responses

We welcome the opportunity to comment on the proposed technical changes to homelessness legislation following Renter’s Reform as this may have an impact on the way homelessness services carry out their duties.

Councils work in partnership with investors and landlords of all tenures to raise standards across the private rented sector.

Councils have a responsibility to support, safeguard, care for and house vulnerable members of their community. The provision of supported housing is vital to ensuring vulnerable people live in suitable homes that meet their personal and all-round housing, health and care needs.

The LGA wants to see a locally-led fully funded oversight and enforcement regime for exempt accommodation within a strengthened national regulatory framework. This should include a requirement for all exempt accommodation providers to be Registered Providers. This will ensure that councils’ responses can be tailored to the challenges they face and the contexts of local housing markets and demand.

As we highlighted to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, councils have been concerned for some time now that a minority of exempt accommodation providers operating across the country fall short in providing good quality, personalised support for people in vulnerable circumstances.

While we welcome the measures in the Bill, we have significant concerns about the capacity of councils’ housing teams to undertake all of the new responsibilities that are proposed. It will be vital for Government to fully fund the measures for them to be effective.

The LGA broadly welcomes the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Bill, which would make provision about the regulation of supported exempt accommodation; make provision about local authority oversight of, and enforcement powers relating to, the provision of supported exempt accommodation; and for connected purposes.

Councils and their partners worked tirelessly at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, under the Government’s ‘Everyone In’ directive, to support people sleeping rough or in high risk, dormitory-style accommodation into more appropriate accommodation. Many councils have continued these efforts well beyond the first national lockdown period.

Local government works across a broad range of services that are important to social mobility. These include education, welfare, housing, family services and public health to name just a few. Councils are therefore uniquely placed to proactively contribute to improving social mobility of its residents.

We welcome proposals that will strengthen the role of the Social Housing Regulator to increase the rights of tenants and enable tenants to better hold their landlord to account on consumer issues.