Published Friday 5 August 2022 at 11:43
The Council will receive £946,000 of Government funding to give new ways to help tenants in supported housing along with new enforcement measures – and crack down on unscrupulous landlords.
Blackburn with Darwen joins Birmingham, Blackpool and Hull councils as part of the scheme receiving over £6 million from the government’s £20 million Supported Housing Improvement Programme to carry out more frequent and thorough inspections of supported housing. The scheme will run until the end of March 2025.
Supported housing provides accommodation alongside care, support, or supervision for residents who may have experience of homelessness, mental health issues or domestic abuse. This includes Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs), which often house people temporarily.
The Council’s Planning Committee has recently approved changes to planning applications for Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs), which means they would now need full planning applications in all areas of the borough, making it more difficult for new premises to be introduced to Blackburn and Darwen.
HMO numbers have grown significantly in the borough in recent years and concerns include the pressures placed on local services by the residents, many of whom come to the HMOs from outside Blackburn with Darwen.
Under the new scheme, poor performing landlords will need to improve and provide better accommodation and support for their vulnerable tenants, such as carrying out support reviews with the tenant and referring them to specialist agencies if needed.
Those failing to do so face enforcement action. Councils have the power to issue penalty charge notices, prohibition orders that could stop part or all of the building being used, and to prosecute where poor accommodation standards risk the health and safety of residents.
The Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Councillor Phil Riley, said:
We are pleased to have secured this significant new funding for such vital work. This is a complicated problem but we can now build on earlier successes and look at new initiatives to scrutinise and improve standards in this sector of the housing market.
This two and a half year programme will involve a small dedicated team working closely with private providers and their residents. We want to get on top of this big issue for our borough to make sure that that the correct type and quality of support is delivered to local residents at a reasonable cost.
We are committed to giving hope to some very vulnerable people who are from either Blackburn or Darwen who want to rebuild their lives as well as cutting down on anti-social behaviour which affects the wider community.
This is also an opportunity to play a part in improving the regulation of this sector across the country and stop the rise of them in our borough.
The Government funding announcement follows pilots in the four council areas, including Blackburn with Darwen. An independent evaluation found the pilot schemes had a positive impact on councils’ ability to manage their local supported housing and they were able to take more action to improve standards and ensure costs are reasonable.
Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing Eddie Hughes said:
While there are many excellent supported housing providers in the market, we know there are a minority that are shamelessly taking advantage of vulnerable residents, and we are committed to ending this practice.
This funding will allow Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Hull to build on their successful pilot schemes. This work is already benefitting local communities by tackling poor practice and improving conditions for vulnerable tenants.