The national spotlight is on exempt accommodation, a type shared housing, because it claims it fails to care for, or in some cases exploits some of the most vulnerable citizens of the country.
Two ex-support workers told BBC that crime and drug-ridden houses were common in the sector. Many residents live in desperate and hopeless circumstances.
Philippa said that people are often left in worse situations than they were when they entered the facility. Her own safety and the safety of those she was helping is sometimes at risk.
After being made redundant, she came across an advertisement for a job in Birmingham working with exempted supported housing.
She would be required to travel daily to various properties in the city, where she would help people who have few options for housing, including those with substance abuse issues, prisoners leavers, and those with serious mental health problems.
On her first day of training, she was asked to shadow a colleague for four hours before being assigned a full client list. The complexities of the lives and places of residents became apparent within days of her starting.
Philippa said that it was supposed to provide a safety net for people and help them start a new lifestyle – to teach people how they live, budget, and maintain a clean home.
She said that she saw the most vulnerable in the country living in rooms without furniture. The lure of crime and drugs was constant because of criminals living right next to them.
Philippa claimed that she was contacted one evening by a housemate of a woman who had just fled domestic violence. She was “acting strange”
Philippa stated that she was “lifeless and incoherent” when she arrived at the property after taking heroin overdose.
Later, she claims that she was given drugs by the dealer in her next room.
“I am supposed to refer these vulnerable adults for drug abuse but how do I help them when there is a dealer in their home?” She said.
She claimed she saw bedrooms that were used to distribute heroin and cocaine and where residents were recruited to work with the dealers.
Philippa said, “Living with exempt accommodation is like jumping from the frying pan to the fire.”
“Some people leave the streets and return to living on them because they believe it is a better alternative. This is the bottom line.
Legally, this accommodation should provide “more than minimal support” for some of the most vulnerable people in England, but it “can fall woefully below the support that’s required,” says Clive Betts, chair of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, who launched a public inquiry into the matter in December.
Many people live in flats above shops, terraces or what appears to be a house-share – a home with multiple occupancy (HMO). Housing exempt from licensing and housing benefit caps means that it is not subject to local regulations or housing benefit caps. This means that the police and council have limited power over safety and quality.
It can make a huge difference in your life. St Basil’s, a Birmingham charity, supported approximately 4,000 youths aged 16-25 in the West Midlands over the past year (April 2020-21). 92% of them moved on “in a positive plan way”, such that they got their own homes or started training.
Residents’ outcomes are often affected by the choice between commissioned and non-commissioned accommodation. The latter has to have been tested before it is allowed to provide services or access funding from the council.
Only 9% of the 22,000 rooms in Birmingham’s supported housing system have been made available by the council over the last three years. This is a total of 2,000.
Philippa worked as a support worker in several non-profit organizations for nearly two years before quitting because it was too much.
She stated that she was speaking out to bring light to “this underground world” that the public doesn’t know about.
We have documentation that shows they furnished accommodation for some of the largest lease-based exempt housing providers in the city. However, the BBC won’t name the companies to protect her identity.
Tenants are entitled to more than PS220 per semaine in accommodation through the Department for Work and Pensions. This is directly paid to the businesses.
The fees are almost double those of a Birmingham council tenancy, which averages PS90.62 per semaine.
Philippa stated that some firms offered a PS100 cash incentive to every client she brought in.
She said that it was a big business, with most properties accommodating between three and six people. Sometimes more.
Philippa claimed that weak and sometimes negligent management of more than one provider would encourage doctoring individual’s notes to make it seem they had been supported and referred to charities and other services, when in fact they hadn’t.
She claimed that she was given a backlog with residents’ files, dating back to months before she started, and that she was asked “to forge support note and risk assessments for support plans” for people she hadn’t met.
She claimed she had seen evidence suggesting that fraudulent housing benefit claims could have been made at one company.
“One property, nobody was living there – but it was down like a full house. She said that there was not even a hairbrush visible.
These claims are not outrageous. Birmingham City Council has been able to recover PS3.6m from landlords that have submitted “inappropriate” or fraudulent housing benefit applications since 2019.
Prospect Housing, a former exempt provider, was included in the settlement. Prospect Housing repaid PS1.2m of over-claimed housing benefits in 2020 before closing permanently.
Philippa stated that some rooms were in a terrible state without central heating, carpets, or curtains.
She said, “Sometimes it just was a mattress on the floor.”
Each resident was expected to receive at least one hour of assistance each week. However, she had between 15-25 people on some days.
She said, “It was completely overwhelming.”
Philippa was also concerned by Debbie, another support worker. After a few months, she was forced to leave the job by two other organizations, both in Birmingham.
She said that “[Exempt Housing] turns people who don’t have drug habits into people with them.”
“Some of these people want to move on, but they fall back into drugs every day because there is nothing to do. They are addicted to drugs and have no willpower.
She also claimed that she was asked to create reports on people “for the last three months”, which predated her working for the firm.
Debbie said that she did not see any DBS checks or basic identity checks on her staff and claimed that the vetting of residents was non-existent.
She said, “You cannot put someone who has lost their home with needles in their arms and living in the living room.”
After a report that found “many instances of prostitution and drug dealing, aggression, and other anti-social behavior”, Saif Lodge in Edgbaston in Birmingham was declared exempt from closing down.
It housed more people than 20 at once and caused chaos in a once peaceful neighborhood.
After a Planning Inspectorate report, which resulted in a closure order being issued, police and other authorities spent many months collecting evidence.
Preet Kaur Gill from Edgbaston, a member of Parliament, spoke out about Saif Lodge and said that it was not sustainable for properties with similar issues to be closed “because there are too many”.
Birmingham City Council took action in April 2021 to close Oak Tree Lane, Selly Oak after many complaints about anti-social behavior and a death.
According to the council, despite closing down Oak Tree Lane and other exempt properties supported by it, this was possible only because providers cooperated.
A spokesperson said that because we don’t have enforcement powers, it was impossible for us to stop another provider from moving in and taking control of the property.
Philippa stated that her anxiety about what she was going through made it so difficult she had to leave.
Concerned about prostitution, drug dealing and grooming young girls, she made four reports to West Midlands Police.
The force confirmed that it was conducting an investigation and was aware of the potential for exempt housing to be exploitative.
Rich Baker, Assistant Chief Constable: “We have concerns that criminals can generate and launder cash through exempt properties while also exploiting taxpayers money.”
He stated that officers collaborated with the National Crime Agency (West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit) to disrupt gang activity.
He stated that if there is evidence of criminal activity linked to exempt property, we will take appropriate action and look for opportunities under the Proceeds of Crime Act in order to recover money or assets acquired through crime.
Philippa’s testimony was presented to West Midlands Police Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner Tom McNeil as part of this investigation.
He said that “this is clearly appalling” and was extremely serious. Intelligence also showed that exempt housing was being managed by organised crime gangs or negligent landlords, who exploited the system to make a profit for the vulnerable.
McNeil stated that the police had recognized that exempt accommodation was a major factor in the crime that occurred. He said that the centres are run by serious, organised gangs.
After witnessing a “huge rise in exempt accommodation” in recent years, the police and crime commissioner’s offices are calling for “strong regulatory changes”.
He said, “We want a very high level of accountability for those who are permitted to run it fully stop. This means that there must be a regulatory system that does not allow anyone to do it.”
“But it is also very clear about the types of standards expected. This includes support for mental illness and drug addiction.
A public inquiry into exempt housing will examine how it should be provided and regulated. The report is expected to be published within the next few months.
Shabana Mahmood (MP for Ladywood) addressed a parliamentary debate about the issue in February. She called for stricter regulation to prevent “lucrative loopholes”, which are being exploited and exploited by “rogue cattleboy providers”.
Minister for rough sleeping and housing Eddie Hughes acknowledged that it was a serious issue that affected hundreds, if no thousands, of people across the country.
He said that he still needed a final report on the pilots’ findings from Blackburn, Hull and Bristol in 2021, before any decisions could be made.
He stated that he wouldn’t rule out legislation changes in the future, “if it proves to be most important tool we can deploy”.
Prospect Housing and Crisis, a joint investigation, found that 153 701 households in the UK had been living in supported housing as of May 20, 211. This is a 62% increase over five years and a growing national problem.
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