Exempt accommodation

NHF & SITRA published (early 2015) a useful briefing that explains the definition of and new regulations.

The issue of the definition of "exempt accommodation" has been a key concern for many housing associations with supported housing.

Under the previous Department for Work and Pension (DWP) definition of "exempt accommodation" many of the commissioning arrangements within supported housing were not reflected.

This led to concerns that tenants within supported housing schemes which are not classified as exempt would potentially be affected by welfare reform policies such as direct payments, the benefit cap and size criteria.

The DWP has introduced a new category of "specified accommodation" to attempt to resolve some of these issues.