17 guides
Guides to supported housing in England
Each guide opens with a quick answer and a short version of five points or fewer, then the detail, the questions people ask and the sources we used.
Foundations
What exempt and specified accommodation are, and how the Housing Benefit rules fit together.
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
Types of accommodation
Transitional, emergency, care leaver, refuge, prison leaver and supported living models.
Transitional housing and move-on
How transitional supported housing works, typical lengths of stay, tenancy or licence choices, and a practical move-on plan that starts on the first day.
Updated Oct 2026
Emergency accommodation, temporary accommodation and supported housing
Emergency and temporary accommodation explained: the council duties behind them, the B&B six-week rule, and when a placement counts as exempt.
Updated Oct 2026
Supported accommodation for care leavers and 16 to 17 year olds
Ofsted registration for 16 and 17 year olds, who pays the rent at each age, Staying Put, the shared rate exemption and how licensing treats youth schemes.
Updated Oct 2026
Supported living explained
How supported living works, why care and housing must be separate, CQC registration, tenancies and mental capacity, and lease-based landlords.
Updated Oct 2026
Refuges and domestic abuse safe accommodation
How refuges fit the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 duty, specified accommodation category 3, sanctuary schemes and paying rent on two homes.
Updated Oct 2026
Prison leavers, CAS-3 and supported housing
Housing for people leaving prison: Approved Premises, CAS-2, CAS-3's 84 nights, the duty to refer and what exempt accommodation providers must get right.
Updated Oct 2026
Rent and Housing Benefit
Core rent, service charges, rent officer referrals and the evidence councils ask for.
Regulation
Licensing, national standards, Ofsted, the Renters' Rights Act and what is still to come.
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
The Renters' Rights Act and supported accommodation
What changed for supported housing on 1 May 2026: which agreements are covered, possession grounds 5E and 5F, licences and timings for registered providers.
Updated Oct 2026
Best practice
Support planning, safeguarding, property standards and getting audit ready.
Needs assessments, support plans and support records
Needs assessments within four weeks, support plans residents own, records that stand up to scrutiny, safeguarding and outcomes in supported housing.
Updated Oct 2026
Property standards and safety in supported housing
The property rules for supported housing: HHSRS, HMO licensing, fire safety, gas and electrical checks, smoke and CO alarms, Awaab's Law and Decent Homes.
Updated Oct 2026
A guide for managing agents and proptech teams in supported housing
Who carries which duty in supported housing, the data councils and licensing will ask for, and how managing agents and proptech teams can build for it.
Updated Oct 2026
How to prepare for a supported housing audit
A step-by-step plan to get ready for a council review, licensing or an independent audit of supported exempt accommodation, and what to pull together.
Updated Oct 2026
Grey areas
The niche questions where the rules are unclear and decisions turn on the facts.