‘The worst place I’ve ever lived’: vulnerable children in unsafe homes

MPs and charities claim vulnerable people with care needs are living in “degrading” homes because the government has so far failed to introduce a new law.

The Supported Housing Act was passed in June last year to create standards in the sector, after a select committee found a lack of regulation meant some landlords were “profiting” from “unacceptably poor accommodation”.

But there has been no consultation on how it should work and an advisory panel on the sector has yet to be set up. The government, blaming the delay in the elections, said it was committed to consultations and panels.

Rhys Matthews, 26, told the BBC that supported housing was “the worst place I’ve ever been”.

Councils decide whether someone with care needs, such as a mental or physical health problem, qualifies for supported accommodation and who can provide it, but otherwise there is almost no regulation.

The council pays rent for people who are vulnerable due to factors such as disability or homelessness, abuse and addiction.

The new law empowers the Department of Housing and local councils to set standards for providers of supportive housing for the first time, but no firm date has been set for a consultation on how the law will work.

A Housing spokesman said it had “made a clear commitment” to consultation on further measures early next year.

Meanwhile, the Supportive Housing Advisory Panel, which is meant to consist of people from the sector who can provide input to the government, has also not been set up.

By law, it must be established in June. The government said it was committed to setting up the panel.

Rhys grew up in foster care and moved into an assisted living facility due to health issues.

He told the BBC that the only furniture in his room was a bed and a small cabinet, and he had piled his belongings on the floor.

He said he was evicted with just an hour’s notice after another resident threw a knife at him and spent the next two years on the streets.

“It almost felt like I was the problem, I was the problem, and they wanted to get rid of me,” he said. “I didn’t know what my rights were.”

Rhys now lives in supported accommodation provided by the charity Emmaus, where he is paid to work.

Charities and other not-for-profit groups have historically provided supported housing, but private firms have moved into the sector over the past decade, with charities and MPs saying many have been forced into substandard housing. has taken advantage of the lack of regulation to make millions while providing

Rhys, like the charities we’ve spoken to, wants the new supported housing law to introduce minimum standards – larger rooms, safe shared spaces and qualified support staff.

He wants landlords who don’t meet those standards to face criminal penalties in the worst cases. “It needs to be cut,” he said.

Jasmin Basran, head of policy and campaigns at homelessness charity Crisis, said: “People who have already suffered significant disadvantage, living in unsafe, unhealthy and clearly uninhabitable conditions without adequate support being forced.”

He said the government was promising to consult on how to improve supported housing “but we need to see progress on this – urgently”.

Charlotte Talbot, chief executive of Emmaus UK, said: “There are too many cases where people are let down by unscrupulous providers, with substandard support and accommodation, with devastating consequences for those who need their help. Depend on services”.

The London Assembly described the sector as “unsafe and unregulated”.

Meanwhile, a BBC investigation in 2022 found Supported housing schemes in the West Midlands were riddled with crime, drugs and, in one case, death..

Yet despite years of apprehension, action is slow, which doesn’t surprise Rhys.

“This is very common from the government,” he said.

“Unfortunately, with assisted living and homelessness, it always seems to backfire. [seat] In any government, Labor or Conservative.”

Bob Blackman MP, who drafted the Act, criticized the “snail’s pace” in implementing it, adding that urgent action was needed as the sector was a “ticking time bomb”. .

The housing department said that “it is correct that decisions on consultation were withheld during the general elections”.

He added that panel members “will be appointed in due course” after interviews close this month.

Even if the law goes into effect, the National Housing Federation (NHF) said it would not “resolve the extreme financial challenges posed by severe funding cuts, including rising inflation and operating costs.” Increase in”.

This accounts for more than a third of supported housing providers’ schemes in the past year and 60% planning to close sites in the future.

At the same time as supported housing supply is falling, many charities say NHS cuts and homelessness have increased demand.

Sophie Bobis, head of policy and research at Homeless Link, said the consultation was needed so that good providers could set a standard for what would look good and remove the uncertainty caused by a lack of regulation.

“It’s a sector that’s at risk … it feels like a pressure cooker right now.”