Pye Green opened two supported housing schemes at two different properties. They presented the local authority with details of the schemes together with housing benefit claims for the licensees. As they were a registered charity providing support and supervision to their licensees, they claimed exemption from the Local Housing Allowance scheme on the basis they were providing supported ‘exempt accommodation’. The local authority decided that the accommodation was not ‘exempt accommodation’ because only a minimal amount (known as ‘de minimis’) of support was being provided by Pye Green to its licensees.

MR Associates entered into lengthy discussions with the local authority to resolve the ongoing disputes. Once we were clear as to the specific issues raised by the authority, we advised Pye Green on the evidence they would need to provide. The advice centred on (1) demonstrating how they provided more than minimal support to their licensees, and (2) properly assessing their housing management, intensive housing management and support charges. We assisted them in conducting an extensive review of their support records, holding discussions with staff and helping them to narrate in a clear manner the support they provided. This was provided to the local authority with a request that it revise its decision.

Pye Green had attempted to deal directly with the authority regarding the housing benefit disputes. It had entered into protracted correspondence with the authority and attended meetings to try to resolve the issues, without success. Pye Green contacted MR Associates when they recognised the need for benefit specialists who could assist them with their complex housing benefit issues.

The specific challenge MRA had was collating and identifying all the evidence Pye Green has regarding support and supervision services to licensees. This was a mammoth task that involved an analysis of voluminous amounts of documentation and extracting the relevant entries that identified the support that had been delivered.