Funding announced to improve housing and support for vulnerable tenants

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced £6 million of funding for vulnerable tenants in supported housing.

The funding for councils aims to improve conditions for vulnerable tenants.

The announcement follows pilot schemes testing new enforcement measures such a property inspection regime and creation of new multi-disciplinary teams to speed up enforcement. An independent investigation found the pilots had a positive impact on the ability of councils to manage their supported housing and they were able to establish innovative and effective ways of working, take action to improve standards and ensure reasonable costs.

Over £6 million will be allocated to Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Hull councils from the government’s £20 million Supported Housing Improvement Programme to carry out more frequent and thorough inspections of supported housing.

The government press release says that the government wants to ensure that people in supported housing who need help with turning their lives around can do so in decent accommodation and with the right support.

According to the press release: "Supported housing should provide suitable, safe, hazard-free accommodation which meets tenants’ needs, and also the right support, for example supervision, advice, or help with life skills, to help tenants live independently in the community. Poor performing landlords will need to improve and provide better accommodation and support for their vulnerable tenants, such as carrying out support reviews with the tenant and referring them to specialist agencies if needed."

Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing Eddie Hughes said: "While there are many excellent supported housing providers in the market, we know there are a minority that are shamelessly taking advantage of vulnerable residents, and we are committed to ending this practice."

Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Councillor Phil Riley, said: "We are pleased to have secured this significant new funding for such vital work.

"This is a complicated problem but we can now build on earlier successes and look at new initiatives to scrutinise and improve standards in this sector of the housing market."