Housing (More Support for Exempt Accommodation) Bill

Mohindra supports the Bill as it aims to protect vulnerable people in supported accommodation. He cites evidence of exploitation by landlords and argues that poor quality housing leads to increased crime, antisocial behaviour, and public health issues.

Pennycook commends the Bill for enhancing local authority oversight of supported housing. He supports Government amendments but notes that stronger measures are needed to address method enforcement, local authority resourcing, and regulation of non-profit-making providers.

He supports the Bill and acknowledges the work of good providers like Concrete and Brighter Futures in Stoke-on-Trent. He highlights the need for stronger measures against rogue landlords who exploit vulnerable tenants, mentioning his own private Members’ Bill to increase fines on such landlords. Gullis expresses concern about the cost of implementing the scheme and calls for financial support from the Government to ensure enforcement. He also notes that Stoke-on-Trent will have a higher than average use of supported accommodation due to its socioeconomic conditions.

He endorses the Bill and highlights the need for further investigation into exempt provision to quantify the scale and profile of providers in any area who are considered problematic. He emphasises the urgent need for action to safeguard vulnerable residents from poor-quality accommodation, citing examples of absentee landlords exploiting vulnerable tenants in his constituency.

She supports the Bill, noting its importance for providing high-quality supported housing to some of the most vulnerable people in society. She highlights the need for collaboration across sectors to ensure that vulnerable individuals receive the right support and accommodation, and welcomes the Government's amendments clarifying licensing powers.

The hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds supports the Bill, praising it as a crucial tool to prevent exploitation of vulnerable individuals by unscrupulous landlords charging excessive rents via housing benefit. She highlighted that the Government had already committed to regulating this sector and reiterated their goal to ensure good quality support housing for residents.

The hon. Member for Harrow East thanked colleagues who supported the bill and emphasised that while many organisations provide excellent support to vulnerable people, rogue landlords are exploiting their vulnerability. He urged for a clear message that such exploitative practices will soon end with the Bill's passage. He also acknowledged the work done by his Ministerial colleague.