A plan to increase the amount of suitable supported housing for the homeless including more HMOs to reduce the reliance on B&Bs in Merthyr Tydfil has been agreed. Full council on Wednesday, April 19 agreed the recommendations of a report which were to develop further units of supported accommodation to meet the local need to ensure the council can meet its statutory obligations.
They also agreed to increase the number of HMOs (House in Multiple Occupation) as part of aims to increase the availability of suitable accommodation to reduce B&B use, avoid costly and timely legal challenges and assist in meeting statutory duties. And full council approved the recommendation to refocus the priorities of the Housing Support Grant to meet the ongoing need for further supported accommodation in offering suitable accommodation and reducing over reliance on B&B provision.
The report for full council mentioned the increasing pressures on the council’s homelessness service and the challenges faced in carrying out the council’s statutory duties under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 and it mentioned the lack of temporary and temporary supported accommodation. It said how the council has become over-reliant on the use of bed and breakfast accommodation and more supported accommodation is needed to enable the authority to meet its duty under the Suitability of Accommodation Order 2015, whilst reducing its temporary accommodation costs.
