Glossary
Supported living
In one sentence
Long-term housing where an adult holds their own tenancy and receives care from a separate, CQC-registered provider.
Care and housing must be genuinely separate. If they are not, the CQC may treat the service as a care home.
Related terms
Lease-based providerA registered provider that leases most of its supported housing from investors, often on long, inflation-linked leases.Managed propertyCategory 2 specified accommodation: not-for-profit supported housing where the resident was admitted to meet a support need, and support can come from anyone.
Where it comes up
- Types of supported housing in EnglandSupported 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.
- 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.
- Grey areas in exempt and supported accommodationMost 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.