The government has announced a package of new measures to crack down on “unscrupulous” landlords running assisted living.
Housing Secretary Eddie Hughes said £20m would be made available for a three-year improvement scheme.
The Conservative MP for Walsall North said some landlords were “exploiting some of the most vulnerable in our society”.
Labor has welcomed what it has called a government about-face.
Liberated shelters, a type of community living, have been in the national spotlight for failing to care for, and in some cases exploiting, some of the country’s most vulnerable people.
More powers for local authorities in England to ensure rogue landlords “cannot exploit the system to the detriment of vulnerable residents,” Mr Hughes proposed in a written statement to Parliament on Thursday.
“The supported housing improvement program will be crucial to immediately boost the quality of the sector in some of the worst-hit areas while the government develops and implements longer-term regulatory changes,” he said.
“This package of proposed actions will address poor quality and value for money in assisted living and improve outcomes for individuals, while maintaining a quality offering from responsible providers.”
Edgbaston Labor MP Preet Kaur Gill, who has spoken on the issue in Parliament, welcomed what she described as an about-face by the government but said the program “falls far short”.
“Our communities are picking up the pieces due to a lack of regulation and the most vulnerable aren’t getting the support they need,” she said.
Anyone from ex-offenders to someone on universal credit can access assisted housing. However, concerns have been raised about the terms and level of support being given to people.
A BBC inquiry in August heard from some residents that they were “stuck in a system” they couldn’t get out of.
Landlords can apply for Provider Status, thereby exempting themselves from local licensing requirements and housing allowance limits. This means councils have little power to decide on the quality and safety of accommodation or the treatment of tenants.
Thursday’s announcement came after an inquiry was launched to look into helping vulnerable people live in sheltered accommodation.
The Leveling Up, Housing and Communities Committee will deal with so-called tax-exempt housing issues across England.
Four pilot projects aimed at improving the standard and quality of assisted living have been carried out in Hull, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bristol and Birmingham, but the Labor MP said the Government had failed to publish data from them.
“You must share the results immediately. We urgently need reform, not just a declaration of intent,” Ms Gil said
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Around 600,000 people in the UK rely on assisted living at any given time and the Government says it is important that landlords provide a safe, stable and supportive place to live.
In one city, Birmingham, the number of assisted living spaces has doubled in the last three years.
Former aid workers have told the BBC that crime and drug infested homes are rampant across the sector, with many residents living in dangerous and hopeless situations.
While there are many good providers, a report for Birmingham City Council said the worst providers “keep some of the most vulnerable people trapped in some of the poorest accommodation with inadequate support”.
Birmingham Councilor Sharon Thompson, Chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Homelessness Taskforce, said: “While this is great news, the devil is in the details and I will work to ensure that the package of measures comes into effect [the] announcement will be implemented in a way that will bring about the real change that is so desperately needed.”
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