Charges for Office Use and Sleep-in Accommodation in Agency Managed Supported Housing Schemes

Introduction

SHiP has produced this document as guidance if you have made the decision to charge for office space and sleep-in accommodation. It does not constitute a recommendation that you charge, nor does it imply that charging is the norm. The intention is to guide members where they have made the decision to charge.

There are reasons both for and against charging:

Reasons for charging:

-There is a loss of income if the flat/room that is being used as an office or as sleep-in accommodation would otherwise be a lettable unit

-There is a cost to the Registered Provider (RP) to maintain these spaces

-If, when setting target rents, there is no evidence that office space or sleep-in accommodation was taken into account then the costs associated with these spaces have not been factored in. (This does not include service chargeable elements such as heating and lighting or renewals and replacement of furnishings – these are covered by a service charge)

-Scheme based offices and sleep-in accommodation are mainly there to enable the provision of care/support. There is a value to care/support staff being on site and costs should be covered from the care/support contract

Reasons for not charging:

-If, when the rents were set, the office and sleep-in accommodation was taken into account then implementing a further charge would be inappropriate as it would be double charging

-As offices and sleep-in accommodation are sited at schemes for the purpose of meeting care/support needs then charges have to be covered by the care/support funding which diminishes the amount of funding available for the provision of care/support

-There is a benefit to the RP as the provision of care/support is enhanced by staff being on site.

The charges

Categories / % of the weekly core rent of the room/flat within a scheme
A / Self contained unit / 100%
B / A lettable unit in shared accommodation / 100%
C / An unlettable unit in shared accommodation / 25%
D / Purpose built office with room for:
  • 1 desk
  • 2 desks
  • 3+ desks
/ 25%
50%
100%
Additional rooms/sleep in accommodation
A / As above / 100%
B / As above / 100%
C / As above / 25%

Implementation

It is important to ensure that the local authority commissioners are aware of any charges you make, the method of calculation and the reasons for charging.

The ideal time to introduce the charges is at the point of re-tendering a contract. Costs can be factored into the tender process and included in the tender pack.
Charges can be introduced midway through a care/support contract by negotiation with the managing agent. The downside to this is that if the managing agent can’t find extra funding to cover the charges they will have to be funded from existing resources which could undermine the financial viability of the care/support service. This is unpopular with both managing agents and commissioners and can reflect badly on the RP.

Communal space for use by tenants

Communal areas used by tenants are not included in these charges to the managing agent. Such areas can include communal kitchens, lounges, bathroom/WCs, activity rooms, IT rooms, etc. These communal areas should have been factored into the calculation of the core rent for each room/flat in the scheme and therefore it would be inappropriate to make an additional charge.

Service charges

Service charges should be split to include the office and sleep-in accommodation, ie, if there are 8 flats/rooms and 1 office the total service charge should be divided by 9.

Costs covered by HB eligible service charges

Costs that are eligible for HB should be negotiated with each local authority, eg, one local authority has accepted that the charge for sleep-in accommodation is service chargeable and eligible for HB; other local authorities have not accepted this.

Annual increases

The charges are based on the core rent for a flat or room within the scheme. Annual increases should be calculated by increasing the total core rent in line with your rent increase policy and recalculating the applicable percentage.

Licence agreement

Managing agents should be issued with a use and occupancy/licence to occupy agreement. This agreement and a policy covering the office and sleep-in accommodation should be attached to the housing management contract.

This guidance/document is intended as a guide only and should not be relied on without taking independent legal advice. The authors accept no legal liability for the form and content of the guidance/document.

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