Supported housing resource hub for England
Supported housing rules, without the jargon.
Guides, a regulation tracker and free tools on exempt, supported, transitional and emergency accommodation. For support providers, housing providers, managing agents and proptech teams.
Every guide cites legislation or official guidance, and says when it was last checked.
Start where you are
One hub, four ways in.
The same scheme looks different to the people running support, the landlord, the agent managing the building and the team building its software. Pick your role for the guides that matter most to you.
You deliver the support. The evidence has to show it.
Councils test support when they decide Housing Benefit claims, and licensing will test it against national standards from 2027. These are the guides that matter most for teams running support services.
Hub for support providersYou hold the tenancy, the rent and most of the risk.
Whether you are a housing association, a charity or a community interest company, the landlord carries most of the legal duties in supported housing. Start with structure and rent, then property and licensing.
Hub for housing providersYou keep the buildings safe. Make sure the paperwork says so.
Managing agents in supported housing work between investors, landlords and support providers. The agreement sets your duties, and some laws make you liable in your own right.
Hub for managing agentsBuild for the evidence, not the demo.
Supported housing software lives or dies on whether it produces evidence a council, commissioner or licensing officer will accept. Start with the data points that matter and the rules behind them.
Hub for proptechBrowse by topic
Everything from definitions to the grey areas.
The sector in numbers
Big, fast-growing and only now getting a regulator.
634,000
units of supported housing across Great Britain
Supported Housing Review 2023, published Nov 2024
215,770
specified accommodation claims on the Housing Benefit system
Supported Housing Review 2023
25,000
people living in exempt accommodation in Birmingham
Birmingham council motion, January 2025
£107m
spent by London boroughs on exempt accommodation in one year
London Assembly Housing Committee, March 2023
Quick answers
The questions we get asked most.
Short, direct answers first. Each links through to the full guide with sources.
More questionsWhat is exempt accommodation?
Supported housing where a housing association, registered charity, voluntary organisation or county council is the landlord and it, or someone acting for it, provides more than minimal care, support or supervision. Housing Benefit pays the rent without the usual local caps.
When does supported housing licensing start?
Licensing under the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 is expected to start in 2027. Draft regulations were due to be consulted on later in 2026.
Does Housing Benefit pay for support?
No. Housing Benefit covers core rent and eligible service charges, including intensive housing management. Support, counselling and personal care are paid for separately.
How soon must a resident have a needs assessment?
Under the licensing conditions in the April 2026 government response, on moving in or within four weeks.
Do supported shared houses need an HMO licence?
Usually, where five or more people from two or more households share facilities, unless a registered provider or other exempt public body manages the building. Charities and CICs are not exempt.
Regulation tracker
What has changed, and what is next.
- Done
Government response on licensing
Licensing will mirror the Act's definition of supported exempt accommodation, with no licence per scheme, a wider fit and proper test and needs assessments within four weeks. Updated 19 June 2026.
- Done
Renters' Rights Act tenancy reforms start
Private assured tenancies become periodic and section 21 ends. New supported accommodation possession grounds come into force.
- In progress
Draft licensing regulations
The government plans to consult on draft licensing regulations and guidance, alongside Housing Benefit changes.
- Expected
First supported housing strategies
The current planned deadline for councils to publish their first supported housing strategies.
- Expected
Licensing expected to start
Councils are expected to begin licensing supported exempt accommodation. Some Renters' Rights Act grounds become available to registered providers.
Free tools
Check your position in minutes, not meetings.
Most read
Guides to start with.
What is exempt accommodation?
Exempt accommodation explained in plain English. The four tests a scheme must pass, how Housing Benefit works for residents and what councils ask to see.
Updated Oct 2026
The four categories of specified accommodation
Exempt accommodation, managed properties, refuges and local authority hostels compared side by side, with who can be the landlord in each category.
Updated Oct 2026
Types of supported housing in England
Hostels, shared houses, Housing First, refuges, foyers, supported lodgings and supported living compared: who each is for, length of stay and funding.
Updated Oct 2026
Licensing and the national supported housing standards
What the 2023 Act does, what the April 2026 government response decided on licensing and national standards, the expected timeline and what to do now.
Updated Oct 2026
Grey areas in exempt and supported accommodation
The niche questions where the rules are unclear: more than minimal support, acting for the landlord, CICs, lease models, HMOs, planning and licences.
Updated Oct 2026
Rent, service charges and Housing Benefit in supported housing
How eligible rent works in supported housing, which service charges Housing Benefit covers, intensive housing management and the evidence councils expect.
Updated Oct 2026
SEA Audit
Licensing will test your evidence. Test it first.
SEA Audit carries out independent audits of supported exempt accommodation: structure, support files, safeguarding, property compliance and rent evidence. You get a scored report and a plain-English action plan.