The 2026 Birmingham Exempt Accommodation Forum Manifesto
Supported Exempt Accommodation plays a vital role in society but the system in Birmingham is broken. There are things that Birmingham City Council can do now before new legal regulations come into force in 2027. We call on all candidates in the 2026 Birmingham Council elections to commit publicly to implementing our 7-point manifesto.
Tackling Birmingham’s ‘Broken System’ of Supported Exempt Accommodation: A Manifesto
Across our city, communities and neighbourhoods have been increasingly affected by the unrelenting spread of Supported Exempt Accommodation (SEA). At the last count, over 30,000 vulnerable people lived in often poor quality, badly managed SEA properties, where they receive wholly inadequate care. The five biggest providers of this housing (and their landlord partners and agents) pocketed almost £300 million of public money last year to provide this ‘service’. Four of these providers have been found to be non-compliant by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) and none of them has any track-record in providing housing with care; yet they continue to operate and prosper, while they brazenly refer to Birmingham as an ‘open door.’
The city now accounts for around half of all SEA spending in the country, with around a third of the residents being referred to Birmingham from elsewhere. The people housed in SEA are not the only victims of this iniquitous system; neighbourhoods and communities are disrupted by the noise and nuisance associated with mismanaged SEA, local services are overloaded and, according to West Midlands Police, organised crime is involved in SEA provision.
The City Council, which has allowed SEA to take over Birmingham in a way that almost all other local authorities have avoided, needs to take urgent action now to bring the situation under control, as well as prepare for the implementation of new legislation designed to regulate the sector.
This manifesto sets out the steps which Birmingham City Council should take following the local elections. It has been produced by the Exempt Accommodation Forum.
1
Overhaul Council Oversight of Supported Exempt Housing
There must be complete overhaul of BCC’s arrangements for overseeing Supported Exempt Housing; this should include appointing a senior officer to oversee the transformation of the service, retaining and reinforcing Birmingham’s Supported Housing (Exempt) City Housing Directorate, and reorganising the benefits service.
2
Implement a New System for Processing Enhanced Housing Benefit
Implement an entirely new approach to processing the enhanced housing benefit that underpins SEA (drawing on the experiences of other Local Authorities, particularly in the West Midlands). This must include:
(i) The rigorous assessments of all providers, with annual reviews for all the larger providers, including validation of their ‘not-for-profit’ status and checks on their partners/agents. These reviews must involve the Regulator of Social Housing where appropriate.
(ii) A new system for assessing and checking all HB claims; this should include defined property and care standards that, where possible, are more stringent than the national minimum standards, and that should align with other authorities in the West Midlands.
(iii) All properties to be used for SEA should be pre-inspected and approved before residents can receive enhanced HB. Once in use, risk-based follow-up inspections of housing and care services should be carried out unannounced and on a regular cycle.
(iv) All residents of SEA should pass through proper referral and assessment processes, and they must be matched to suitable accommodation. Out-of-area referrals should be limited to certain need groups (e.g. domestic violence).
3
Focus Fraud & Corruption Investigations on Providers
There is an urgent need to establish a consistent approach to dealing with fraud and corruption. This must be focused on providers and their agents and not on claimants. A joint approach needs to be agreed between the City Council, the Department of Work and Pensions and West Midlands Police.
4
Introduce a One-Stop Complaints Process
There should also be a new and transparent complaints system for SEA with a well-publicised one-stop phone number/on-line complaints form for SEA residents and the general public.
5
Improve Community Liaison
Community liaison must be improved; this includes formalising the existing city-wide liaison arrangements and ensuring that local liaison arrangements are extended to all areas affected by SEA.
6
Strengthen Planning Controls
A review of all planning controls relating to SEA is needed to strengthen existing planning regulations and to cut out planning loopholes. Targeted enforcement action should be taken to eliminate abuses.
7
Plan for a Smaller Sector in Birmingham
Beyond this, the Council must plan ahead by working with other local authorities across the West Midlands Combined Authority and putting in place all the systems and measures needed to introduce an effective and consistent licensing scheme. The Council should anticipate the shrinkage of the sector once bad providers are weeded out by developing a plan with partners to rehouse/relocate many current SEA residents.