Guides, checklists and tools on exempt, supported, transitional and emergency accommodation for support providers, housing providers, managing agents and proptech teams in England.https://hub.seaaudit.com/en-gbhttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/what-is-exempt-accommodation/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/what-is-exempt-accommodation/Exempt accommodation is supported housing where the landlord is a housing association, registered charity, voluntary organisation or non-metropolitan county council, and that landlord, or someone acting for it, gives the resident more than minimal care, support or supervision. Housing Benefit pays the rent, and the usual local rent caps do not apply.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTfoundationshttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/specified-accommodation-categories/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/specified-accommodation-categories/Specified accommodation is the group of supported housing types where rent is paid through Housing Benefit, even for people on Universal Credit. There are four categories. Exempt accommodation, managed properties, domestic abuse refuges and local authority hostels. Each has its own tests for who the landlord can be and whether support is required.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTfoundationshttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/types-of-supported-housing/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/types-of-supported-housing/Supported housing is any housing that comes with support, care or supervision to help people live as independently as they can. The main models are hostels, shared supported houses, self-contained supported flats, Housing First, refuges, young people's schemes, supported lodgings, supported living and housing for older people. They differ in who they serve, how long people stay and who pays for the support.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTfoundationshttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/supported-housing-regulatory-oversight-act/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/supported-housing-regulatory-oversight-act/The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 lets the government set national supported housing standards and create a council-run licensing regime for supported exempt accommodation in England. The April 2026 response confirmed licence holders must meet the standards, pass a wider fit and proper test and assess each resident's needs within four weeks. Licensing is expected in 2027.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTregulationhttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/grey-areas-in-exempt-accommodation/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/grey-areas-in-exempt-accommodation/Most disputes in exempt accommodation come from questions the regulations never fully answer. How much support is more than minimal, when a support provider acts for the landlord, whether a CIC is a voluntary organisation, and how HMO, planning and tenancy law apply. Decisions turn on facts, so the safest position is a structure that matches what happens day to day.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTgreyhttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/housing-benefit-rent-and-service-charges/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/housing-benefit-rent-and-service-charges/Housing Benefit in supported housing covers the core rent plus eligible service charges, such as cleaning and lighting communal areas, furniture and intensive housing management. It does not cover support, counselling, personal care, water charges or most personal fuel and food. Councils expect a line-by-line breakdown showing how each charge is calculated and why it is eligible.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTmoneyhttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/renters-rights-act-supported-accommodation/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/renters-rights-act-supported-accommodation/Since 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 has turned private assured shorthold tenancies into periodic assured tenancies and removed section 21. That includes supported housing let on assured tenancies by landlords that are not registered providers. Licences are not covered. New grounds 5E and 5F let certain supported housing landlords seek possession on four weeks' notice.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTregulationhttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/support-planning-and-needs-assessments/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/support-planning-and-needs-assessments/Every resident should have a needs assessment when they move in or within four weeks, a support plan built with them from that assessment, and records showing the support was delivered. These three documents are what councils check for Housing Benefit, what licensing will check against the national standards, and what protects residents when something goes wrong.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTpracticehttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/property-standards-and-safety/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/property-standards-and-safety/There are no special property standards for supported housing. The ordinary rules apply in full: the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, HMO licensing, fire safety law, gas and electrical checks, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and, for registered providers, Awaab's Law and the Decent Homes Standard. The 2026 response added no new accommodation standards.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTpracticehttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/transitional-housing-and-move-on/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/transitional-housing-and-move-on/Transitional housing is time-limited supported accommodation that helps someone get from crisis to a settled home. Stays usually run from six months to two years. The service only works if move-on planning starts at the first meeting, with a realistic destination, the steps to get there and named people responsible for each one.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTtypeshttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/emergency-accommodation/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/emergency-accommodation/Emergency accommodation is a place to stay at short notice, often arranged by a council under its interim duty while it looks into a homeless application. Temporary accommodation is the wider term for housing councils arrange while they work out or carry out a longer duty. Neither is automatically supported housing. A placement only counts as exempt accommodation if the landlord type and support tests are met.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTtypeshttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/care-leavers-supported-accommodation/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/care-leavers-supported-accommodation/Since 28 October 2023, supported accommodation for looked-after children and care leavers aged 16 or 17 in England must be registered with Ofsted. At 16 and 17, children's services pays for a care leaver's accommodation, not Housing Benefit. From 18, most care leavers can claim Universal Credit or Housing Benefit, and under-25s are exempt from the shared accommodation rate.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTtypeshttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/supported-living/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/supported-living/Supported living is long-term housing for adults, often with learning disabilities, autism or mental health needs, where the person holds their own tenancy and gets care from a separate provider. The Care Quality Commission regulates the personal care, not the home. The arrangement only works legally if housing and care are genuinely separate, so the person could change care provider without losing their home.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTtypeshttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/domestic-abuse-safe-accommodation/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/domestic-abuse-safe-accommodation/Refuges are non-permanent accommodation with specialist support for people who have left home because of domestic abuse. Under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, upper-tier councils in England must assess the need for support in safe accommodation, publish a strategy and commission support to meet it. For Housing Benefit, refuges are category 3 specified accommodation, which has no separate support test.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTtypeshttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/prison-leavers-cas3-and-supported-housing/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/prison-leavers-cas3-and-supported-housing/People leaving prison who would otherwise be homeless can be housed through the Community Accommodation Service. CAS-1 is Approved Premises, CAS-2 is bail and home detention curfew accommodation, and CAS-3 gives up to 84 nights of temporary accommodation with basic support. Many then move into exempt accommodation, which needs close joint working with probation and clear risk management.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTtypeshttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/managing-agents-and-proptech-in-supported-housing/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/managing-agents-and-proptech-in-supported-housing/In supported housing the landlord, support provider and managing agent carry different duties, and the paperwork has to say who does what. Managing agents need a clear management agreement and a compliance record. Proptech teams should build around the evidence councils and licensing officers ask for, with proper protection for sensitive data.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTpracticehttps://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/how-to-prepare-for-a-supported-housing-audit/https://hub.seaaudit.com/guides/how-to-prepare-for-a-supported-housing-audit/Start by mapping every scheme and its structure, then sample resident files and check each has an assessment within four weeks, a current support plan and records that match it. Check property compliance, the rent and service charge breakdown, safeguarding logs and governance. Fix what you can, write down what you cannot fix yet, and keep the evidence in one place.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTpractice