The closing date for replies to the Government’s two consultations on supported housing funding end on 23 January 2018.
We urge all providers of supported housing to consider submitting a response to the consultations which set out plans to overhaul the way supported housing is funded from April 2020 onwards. It is likely that the proposed changes will have a major impact on supported housing providers but also existing management arrangements between Registered Providers and supported housing agents.
For our part, our concerns include:
- The introduction of a ‘sheltered rent’ for extra care and sheltered housing which includes all service charges and is subject to a cap by the Regulator;
- The impact of short term supported housing funding being devolved to local authorities to cover both rental and support costs, in particular, the impact on agency managed stock and existing management agreements; and
- The effect of removing individual entitlement to housing benefit in short term supported housing, in particular, the concern that housing funding at local level will lead to unsustainably low rent levels.
For more information, please contact Lee Russell or Nick Billingham in our Housing Management team.
