west london almshouses & exempt accommodation
DESCRIPTION
Some slides from a presentation to West London Almshouses Group on Exempt Accommodation, enhanced Housing Benefit & Supporting People funding cuts.TRANSCRIPT
Exempt Supported Housing, Universal Credit and Intensive Housing
Management
West London Almshouse Group
February 2013
Reallocating costs met, for example, by Supporting People into the Housing Benefit income stream
Protecting tenants, providers, local authorities & statutory services
Reducing unit costs for support/social care without reducing the budget
Protecting self-funders
What’s This About?
Nonprofit landlord (County Council, Registered Provider*, Voluntary Organisation or Charity)
Legal interest in accommodation (ownership or lease), which….
….accommodates vulnerable people Where the service is provided by or on behalf
of the Landlord Accommodation-based & tenancy
sustainment/floating support can be Exempt Accommodation
Exempt Accommodation
Tenants of Exempt Accommodation will have the housing component of their benefit administered at local level much as it is now.
This can be a significant amount of money
It has helped providers to reduce dependency on SP
And subsidise support costs in tenders
Exempt Accommodation
Exempt Accommodation scenarios are a good idea: For tenants: service levels maintained Providers: income levels maintained Local Authorities: recover amounts
paid through HB from the DWP A good way of funding prevention &
taking pressure off statutory services
Exempt Accommodation
Please talk to us! www.supportsolutions.co.uk/briefing/iss
ue_12/exempt_accommodation.html www.supportsolutions.co.uk/briefing/iss
ue_12/ucihm.html www.supportsolutions.co.uk/briefing/iss
ue_11/intensive_housing_management_.html
www.supportsolutions.co.uk/blog/blog.html
Exempt Accommodation
What exactly is IHM?1. Repetitive ordinary housing management
functions, i.e. lettings, tenancy sign ups2. Additional housing management
functions due to the nature of the tenant group and the accommodation
3. Housing Management functions linked to communal areas and the provision of systems, i.e. testing of door entry, CCTV and alarms, re-provision of furniture and equipment etc.
Welfare Reform: What are the impacts on Intensive Housing Management?
Housing Corporation defined – ‘A guide to Supported Housing’ www.supportsolutions.co.uk/docs/guide_to_supported_housing.pdf
Judge Turnbull Legal Precedent Bristol CC v AW [2009] UKUT 109 (AAC) –
satisfactory test for determining support is more than minimal is to ask whether support provided likely to make a real difference to the claimant’s ability to live in the property
Intensive Housing Management
Why refer to support when defining IHM? Judge Turnbull Legal Precedent continued;
R(H) 6/08, R(H) 4/09 – ‘Support’ involves the landlord doing more than, or different from, the exercise of its ordinary property management functions
Chorley BC v IT (HB) [2009] UKUT 107 (AAC) – support not confined to counselling, advising, encouraging etc. ‘the carrying out of repairs which clearly go beyond ordinary housing management can amount to support’
IHM can therefore be sufficient to qualify as exempt accommodation!
It’s now “additional housing management services”!
Intensive Housing Management
An example of a service that enables you to communicate with tenants & check they’re OK Costs nothing (funded through HB) It is an “additional housing management
service” Resolves problems associated with funding
alarms Tenants very positive about it Provides excellent management information Staff can focus on tenants who need more
support www.housingproactive.com
Housing Proactive
Our Contact DetailsFairgate House205 Kings RoadBirmingham B11 2AA0121 707 7766/[email protected] @suppsolutions www.facebook.com/SupportSolutionsLtd?sk=wall
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