HB & Supported Accommodation

The Workshop is primarily aimed at staff working for supported housing providers, care and support providers, and developers / investors involved in the development of supported housing schemes.  (We provide a separate Workshop and Programme for local authority HB teams.)

This Programme is only available as In-House Workshops for individual organisations - either Online or at your own training venue.

HOUSING BENEFIT & SUPPORTED ACCOMMODATION
Regulation of Supported Housing & The New Licensing Regime

The day begins with a walk-through of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, which puts in place a framework for a new licensing regime in England and, potentially, Wales. In England and Wales, only personal care is a directly regulated activity: anyone providing support, supervision or care that stops short of intimate personal care can provide supported housing without any direct regulatory oversight. Instead, a mixture of overlapping regimes governs registered charities, registered social housing providers, HMOs and CICs … but nothing that specifically regulates support etc per se. 

The 2023 Act changes that: it introduces a set of national standards for both accommodation and support services, and a new licensing regime which will require all organisations providing supported housing to obtain a licence administered by the local authority. The current thinking is that it could launch as early as the first half of 2025. In this workshop, we look at:

· The provisions of the Act in general;

· The national standards and national advisory panel;

· The licensing regime;

· How the licensing regime and standards are likely to affect Housing Benefit:

o Enhanced HB levels reliant on compliance;

o Eligibility of licensing fees and admin costs.

We will use the remainder of the day to brush up on some of the most frequent questions raised by supported housing providers in our postbag:

· The definition of “specified accommodation” that attracts HB rather than a UC housing element;

· How the HB eligible rent is calculated for each category of “specified accommodation”:

    o Cases where the full rent less ineligible services can be met;

    o Cases where the bedroom tax applies;

    o Cases where the LHA applies;

    o Cases where the Local Reference Rent applies;

    o The different rules for registered housing associations and others;

    o The significance of exempt accommodation, as distinct from the other types of specified accommodation.

· Eligibility of service charges, including intensive housing management;

· Communication with local authorities: coordinating correspondence between tenants, deputies, care providers and housing staff;

· Appeals and other remedies when things go wrong. 

Delegates might well have their own cases that they would like to put forward for discussion during the day: with sufficient notice we can incorporate your questions as case studies so please feel free to forward anything you would like to have raised!

Presented by the “HB Anorak” Peter Barker who has many years’ experience dealing with complex supported accommodation case work and representing both local authorities and providers in appeal cases.

Topics Covered:

 Main part of the day: 

New Licensing Regime

• A Walk-Through Of The 2023 Act;
• Advice, Strategy And Standards;
• Licensing;
• Impact On HB Teams;
• Organisational Issues.

Second part of the day: 

FAQs – Refresher

• “Specified” And “Exempt” Accommodation;
• Eligible rent:
  • Restricted Or Full Amount?
  • LHA Or LRR?
  • Registered HA Or Other?

Service charges: 

• Fuel – Communal v Personal;
• Security / Concierge.

Communication and disputes: 

• Keeping Tabs On Correspondence – Tenants, Deputies, Care Providers, Landlord’s Own Staff;
• Challenging Adverse Decisions – E.g. HB Terminated Because Evidence Not Provided.

Delegates’ questions

• Including Any Case Studies Submitted In Advance.

Contact us for In-House & Online booking information.  

We are always pleased to arrange most of our Workshops, such as this one, for staff from an individual organisation to be held at their own training venue or by Zoom/TEAMS. Please email us with your requirements for details.