Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Leila Mohamed said the proposed rent reduction could help working tenants
The financial incentives for turning hotel rooms into affordable housing look set to lapse.
Corporate property firms and developers must apply for a new visa every year to be allowed to register under the scheme for helping low-income families, known as the Homeless Hospitality Voucher.
However, critics say there is a lack of incentives to extend the scheme, and have warned that many of the properties could be lost.
Fewer than 100 of them were registered last year.
‘Time to think again’
The scheme launched in 2003 and, initially, encouraged companies who rented hotel rooms as vacant properties to help those who needed help out.
They could rent out rooms using a Homeless Hospitality Voucher for two years and be given a reduced rent.
But in July this year, the scheme’s third and final five-year term came to an end.
More than half of local authorities, which are responsible for registering companies, are concerned that they lack incentives to help organisations lease properties.
In a written parliamentary answer, Children and Families Minister Sarah Newton said: “The National Voucher scheme, which provides a low-cost, reliable funding option for the rental of vacant rooms, is only one mechanism for helping people experiencing homelessness.
“There are around 900 shared accommodation options, including receiving statutory minimum minimum income support support.
“In addition, homelessness charities also receive funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to support people in areas with high homelessness.”
‘Will get strapped’
Sam Baldassari, who is an interim service manager for the Grenville Academy in Croydon, south London, has warned that he does not believe the scheme will be extended.
But the landlord and property developer, AJP, which owns dozens of hotel rooms in south London, said he has been told to apply every two years and expects his application for a two-year voucher to be approved.
Odd Hinsch, of the Southern Housing Trust which has 12 hotels under its umbrella, also told BBC Surrey the scheme had come to an end.
But he added: “There’s no point keeping it going forever and ever and ever because of the lack of a framework, which is always just out of date.”
Inspired by sleeppickets
In 2016, the Homeless Hospitality Voucher scheme was adopted by Sport England, a government department that aims to get more people active.
Those who paid £25 a ticket were able to stay in hotels for up to two nights during major events and, in return, young people in their 20s and 30s were able to work to earn money to pay the room rent.
Sports Minister Tracey Crouch told BBC Scotland at the time: “To see the passion and commitment that the volunteers have to keep thousands of people safe, I couldn’t imagine another campaign with such passion.”
Prospective young people who were not able to attend, such as their parents, were to be able to use the scheme to pay for the room rent, though being in the military or joining the Armed Forces was ruled out.
The scheme is aimed at keeping young people on track to join sports teams.
Last year, Sports England announced around 600 homeless young people in Scotland were using the voucher.
Despite the scheme working, AJP doesn’t believe the voucher scheme was the only answer and now believes it should be extended.
AJP owner John Keogh said: “There’s no doubt that I’ll get strapped. The problem is I don’t have a five-year renewal and I don’t have an extension that is a five-year renewal.
“I think it would be a real shame that the Government doesn’t extend it because it could be a life changing event for some people.”
Opinion is split among charities that help homeless people.
According to the National Homelessness charity, while it supports the scheme, it is concerned about its future as a means of preventing people becoming homeless.
Nick Tyldesley, Head of Policy at St Mungo’s, said: “The scheme is a good idea and it works.
“We don’t believe, however, that the scheme should continue as a vehicle to provide housing stock rather than other forms of funding like the private rented sector.
“And we want to see Government doing more to ensure homeless persons who may have been saved by the scheme actually get into permanent accommodation to begin with.”
Whether it is re-announced will depend on whether there is a government bill to extend the scheme for a further five years next spring.
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