News
It's a vital part of our support to advocate for young people in our communities and to challenge decisions that have a negative impact on young people.
In December 2022, the Government announced that social housing rent increases were to be capped at 7% in the 2023-24 financial year as a temporary measure amid the cost-of-living crisis. While we of course welcomed this cap on increases, the cap did not apply to Supported Housing; the Government stated that Supported Housing would be exempted from the 7% rent ceiling due to the tighter operating margins.
As a Supported Housing provider, we appreciate the tight operating margins more than ever. We’ve faced an increase in rents, utilities bills and staffing costs over the past 12 months, and expect these to increase again in 2023-24. We understand the need to make ends meet to remain a viable, performing service which can continue to deliver support services.
However, as always, our priority is the young people we support. Therefore we’ve worked hard to ensure any increases young people face stay well within the suggested range for Supported Housing. The Government reinforce a suggested increase of CPI +1% for Supported Housing, which would equate to 11.1% increases in rent and service charges for residents.
We have had to advocate for our residents where landlords have abused the lack of an increase cap. Some landlords have posited raising rents by over 50%, considerably above the 11.1% suggestion or 7% social housing cap.
This is an impossible increase to meet. Young people in college or part time work would be left with just £22 per week to live off, including paying for travel, food, toiletries etc which themselves have increased in cost. Many of our residents fall into the most vulnerable groups within our communities – without advocacy and support services they would be left to fight these increasing costs alone.
I am delighted to report that we have been successful across the board in challenging the increased costs young people are facing. This is testament to the hard work and determination of the teams on the ground, fighting for young people's rights across our services.
We rely on our relationships with landlords, well-trained staff and a culture of challenge to ensure we continue advocating for young people facing these hardships. We want to urge anyone struggling to meet their rising rent costs or who are worrying about the increases they may face in April 2023 to seek advice from their local Citizens Advice Bureau.
If you want advice or advocacy support regarding your wellbeing or housing and are between the ages of 11-25 years, please contact us via our webchat and we can help point you in the right direction.
Step by Step’s Supported Lodgings has become the first service of its kind to achieve Ofsted accreditation. We are now the largest Supported Lodgings provider in the UK, as well as being considered the authority in the field.
