Glossary
Care, support or supervision
Also called: CSS
In one sentence
The help a resident must receive for accommodation to count as exempt accommodation. It is not defined in the regulations.
Councils normally look for help beyond what any tenant gets from a landlord, such as help to manage a tenancy, budgeting, emotional support, linking with health services or supervision because of risk. Ordinary housing management does not count on its own.
The support must be more than minimal and, for exempt accommodation, provided by the landlord or someone acting for it.
Related terms
More than minimalThe threshold, set by case law, that care, support or supervision must pass for exempt accommodation.On its behalfThe requirement that support in exempt accommodation comes from the landlord or from someone acting for the landlord.Intensive housing managementHousing management that costs more because of residents' needs, which Housing Benefit can cover if it is not support.
Where it comes up
- The four categories of specified accommodationSpecified 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.
- The Renters' Rights Act and supported accommodationSince 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.
- Emergency accommodation, temporary accommodation and supported housingEmergency 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.