Scrutinising the Council's New Plan to Tackle Exempt Accommodation Crime

What's happened

On 9 July 2026, Birmingham City Council hosted a major roundtable summit with local and national partners, including the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness, to address the ongoing crisis in Supported Exempt Accommodation (SEA). The data presented is stark: Birmingham is now home to more than 33,000 exempt units across 12,000 properties, a figure that has tripled since 2017.

Following this, on 15 July, the new Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, Cllr Baber Baz (Liberal Democrats), presented a motion to full council demanding urgent government intervention. The council has investigated over 7,000 complaints related to the sector, with nearly half concerning crime and anti-social behaviour. The council is now calling for a dedicated planning use class, HMO-style licensing, and additional funding for enforcement.

What it means for Erdington and Pype Hayes

For residents in Erdington and Pype Hayes, these statistics are not just numbers on a spreadsheet; they are the reality of our daily lives. The over-concentration of exempt properties has fundamentally changed the character of several of our streets. We are seeing family homes lost to multi-room setups, placing an unbearable strain on local services, waste collection, and neighbourhood policing.

Crucially, the council's own figures show that local need for supported beds is around 10,000. This means that roughly 58% of the people living in these properties are being imported from outside Birmingham. Our community is effectively carrying a national burden, and it is our residents who are paying the price through increased anti-social behaviour and a decline in living standards.

Where I stand

I have always been clear: genuine supported accommodation plays a vital role in our society. When run properly, it helps vulnerable people—prison leavers, those fleeing domestic abuse, or individuals recovering from addiction—rebuild their lives. That is the strongest argument for the sector, and I respect the good providers who do this difficult work.

However, the current system is broken. It has been hijacked by unscrupulous rogue providers who are raking in millions in enhanced housing benefit while providing zero actual support. I welcome Cllr Baz's motion and his recognition of the problem. It is refreshing to see the new coalition acknowledging the scale of the crisis. But warm words and letters to Whitehall will not clear up the anti-social behaviour on our doorsteps today. We need robust, immediate enforcement using the powers the council already has, and we need total transparency on where the money is going.

Questions we're asking

As your Reform UK opposition councillor, I am putting these specific questions to the decision-maker on our residents' behalf:

• To Cllr Baber Baz (Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness): The council's in-house SEA pilot recovered £8.8 million in overpaid housing benefit and completed 2,600 ASB investigations, yet its funding is expiring. What exact date will replacement funding be secured, and what happens to enforcement in Erdington if it isn't?
• To Cllr Baber Baz: You stated on 15 July that local need is only 10,000 beds, yet we have 33,000. What specific, measurable targets has your department set to reduce the 58% of placements imported from outside Birmingham, and by when?
• To Cllr Baber Baz: The council is requesting a dedicated planning use class and HMO-style licensing for SEAs. If the Government refuses or delays this until 2027, what is the council's fully costed Plan B to protect wards like Pype Hayes from further saturation?
• To Cllr Baber Baz: Five of the city's six largest exempt providers have been found non-compliant by the Regulator for Social Housing. How much public money has been paid to these specific non-compliant providers in the last financial year, and who signed off on continuing these payments?

What happens next

The council is currently waiting for the Government's response to their demands for the accelerated implementation of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. In the meantime, my office is compiling a ward-level dossier of problem properties in Erdington and Pype Hayes to submit directly to the multi-agency enforcement team. We will not wait for 2027 for action.

Have your say

This is your community, and your voice matters. I invite you to register on the site, leave a comment below, and vote in our ward forum poll. If you are experiencing issues with a specific exempt property on your street, please contact my office so we can add it to our enforcement dossier.

Source: Birmingham City Council Newsroom