A new report has revealed that Birmingham now has 34,122 supported exempt accommodation claims across 12,291 properties - with claims up by 55% and the number of properties up by nearly 60% in just five years.
Birmingham remains an outlier in seeing exempt accommodation grow at such an exceptional rate. As well as family homes being lost as properties are taken off the market, there is an extremely serious community-safety impact on local residents.
The Council’s own figures show:
- 3,027 community-safety investigations
- 1,112 evictions linked to ASB/crime
- 130 arrests
- 42% of complaints linked to ASB or crime
These are not just numbers. They represent real problems for residents living alongside badly managed exempt accommodation.
Taxpayers are also carrying the cost. The SEA partnership has identified £9.2 million in Housing Benefit overpayments, while 218 suspected fraud cases have been referred to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Despite that, the Council says it has received no information on what happened to those referrals.
Out-of-area placements are identified as a major driver of demand, yet Birmingham still does not have a complete picture of how many people are being placed here from elsewhere.
Back in July, Reform UK Birmingham proposed:
- ward-by-ward SEA figures every three months;
- action against further saturation;
- properly funded enforcement;
- an assessment of family homes lost to SEA; and
- greater accountability for out-of-area placements.
That amendment was voted down by the other groups on the Council.
A few months later, many of the same problems remain.
Reform housing spokesperson Cllr Cherie Waddingham said:
“We want to know how many people have been placed into Birmingham from outside the city, how much of the current provision is actually meeting the needs of local people, and when residents will finally get proper ward-by-ward data showing the scale of exempt accommodation in their own communities.
“Our amendment to Full Council in July would have delivered exactly that kind of transparency, alongside action on saturation, stronger enforcement and protection for family homes.
“Birmingham does not need endless concentration of exempt accommodation, family homes disappearing from neighbourhoods, rogue providers profiting from public money and communities being left to deal with the consequences.”
Cllr Jex Parkin, Leader of Reform UK Birmingham, said:
“Supported exempt accommodation is being used for a wide range of groups, including refugees and asylum seekers. We need a proper breakdown of that provision and an explanation for why Birmingham continues to carry such a disproportionate burden.
“If 218 suspected fraud cases have been referred, then taxpayers should be told how many of those providers are still operating in Birmingham and still receiving public money.”