LGA Supported Housing Guidance (Aug 2025) (England)

Summary

1. This entry synthesises key themes and crucial information from the Local Government Association (LGA) Supported Housing Guidance, (Aug 2025) designed to support councils in England in preparing for and implementing the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 (SHROA).

2. The guidance acknowledges the complexities and fragmentation within the supported housing market, emphasising the need for improved oversight, strengthened provider relationships, and ultimately, better outcomes for residents with diverse and complex needs.

3. The SHROA introduces a licensing regime and national standards, aiming to address regulatory gaps and ensure consistent quality across the sector, particularly in transitional supported accommodation. This necessitates a proactive and collaborative approach from local authorities (LAs), encompassing strategic planning, robust needs assessments, optimised internal and external partnerships, a balanced approach to compliance and collaboration, and an unwavering focus on placing residents at the centre of all initiatives.

4. While immediate actions can be taken without significant new funding, leveraging existing resources and relationships effectively is paramount. The guidance highlights the critical role of supported housing as a vital safety net, promoting independence, dignity, and social integration for vulnerable individuals, and ultimately leading to significant public sector cost savings in health, homelessness, and care systems.

The Role and Importance of Supported Housing

5. Supported housing provides a crucial safety net for individuals with diverse and complex needs, helping them to live as independently as possible within the community. It offers stability, specialised services, and a pathway to improved quality of life, dignity, and social integration.

Key Areas of Need Served by Supported Housing

6. Supported housing caters to a wide array of vulnerable populations, each with specific challenges:

1. Older Adults: Addressing mobility issues, chronic health conditions, and social isolation through tailored facilities and community services.
2. People with Physical and Learning Disabilities: Providing accessible, adapted living environments, personalised care, life skills training, and community engagement opportunities to avoid inappropriate institutional stays.
3. People with Mental Health Conditions: Offering safe, stable environments with access to mental health support and therapeutic services to manage symptoms, develop coping strategies, and prevent re-admission to institutions.
4. People Fleeing Domestic Abuse: Supplying secure, confidential accommodation with trauma-informed services, legal/financial guidance, and counselling to help survivors rebuild lives.
5. People Experiencing or at Risk of Homelessness: Providing stability, addressing underlying issues like substance dependence or trauma, and facilitating access to longer-term accommodation.
6. People Recovering from Substance Misuse: Creating structured, substance-free environments with access to addiction counselling and relapse prevention programmes.
7. Individuals Transitioning from the Justice System: Offering safe environments with vocational training, counselling, and assistance with housing and employment to reduce re-offending.
8. Young People Leaving Care: Providing stable environments with life skills development, education, employment support, and emotional wellbeing services to prevent the “cliff edge” of losing support at 18. “Ofsted now needs to regulate supported housing for care leavers ages 16 and 17.”

Empowering Individuals and Bridging Gaps

7. “The sector plays a critical role not only in meeting immediate housing needs but also in promoting independence, dignity, and social integration.” Supported housing “is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between healthcare, social services, and affordable housing, delivering environments where individuals can achieve stability and thrive.”

The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 (SHROA)

8. The SHROA represents a significant legislative shift, driven by concerns about inconsistent standards and potential exploitation within the supported housing sector, particularly in “exempt accommodation” where rent levels are not subject to standard LA restrictions.

Purpose and Motivation for the SHROA

9. The primary motivation for the SHROA is to “establish a regulatory baseline to prevent exploitation in the sector, ensuring that all providers deliver safe, adequate housing and necessary support services.” It aims to improve oversight and enable councils to “identify and respond to providers who do not meet expected standards.”

Requirements and Responsibilities for Local Authorities

10. The Act mandates several key responsibilities for LAs:

1. Supported Housing Needs Assessment: LAs are required to conduct “comprehensive needs assessments to understand local demand and plan service provision accordingly.” This will inform resource allocation.
2. Supported Housing Strategy: Each council must “develop a supported housing strategy” outlining how assessed needs will be met, including “frameworks for monitoring, evaluation, and enforcement.”
3. Licensing Regime: A significant provision is the “introduction of a licensing system for supported housing providers.” Councils will issue licences based on providers meeting “new National Supported Housing Standards.” This grants LAs powers to regulate both commissioned and non-commissioned providers.

Supported Housing Standards

11. While not yet finalised, the SHROA will establish minimum standards based on five core principles:

1. Person-centred: “Residents can influence the support they receive, and their voices are respected and heard.”
2. Respectful: “Residents are treated fairly and with dignity and respect, without discrimination.”
3. Safe and responsive: “The accommodation provides a safe environment with responsive, supportive staff.”
4. Effective: “The supported housing provider takes a tailored approach to residents’ support needs and can demonstrate that the service delivers positive resident outcomes.”
5. Well led: “Appropriate governance structures and organisational procedures are in place to enable the delivery of good quality supported housing and there is a designated responsible person.”

Anticipated Challenges and Strategic Considerations

12. LAs will face challenges in implementing the SHROA, including:

1. Funding and Resources: Anticipated “new burdens funding” may not fully cover compliance costs, requiring councils to “balance compliance with supportive measures,” especially for smaller providers.
2. Partnerships with Providers: A “collaborative approach” is emphasised, encouraging councils to work closely with providers through communication channels like “advisory panels or provider forums.” A “risk-based approach to prioritising intervention and licensing” is also favoured.
3. Cross-Departmental Coordination: Successful implementation requires “close coordination between housing, social services, benefits administration departments and homelessness support services, including commissioning, planning and procurement.” Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs) are highlighted as effective.
4. Sustaining Supply: Ensuring that “additional compliance considerations from the SHROA do not negatively impact upon residents” is crucial.

Developing a Strategy and Needs Assessment

13. A dedicated strategy and thorough needs assessment are fundamental for commissioning and regulating successful local supported housing services.

Partnerships and Demand Forecasting

14. Councils need “a strong understanding of their area’s local supported housing demand.” This involves:

1. Internal Audits: Establishing “data collection and monitoring processes to ensure that accurate data on supported housing schemes is maintained.”
2. Needs Assessment: Gaining “a clear understanding of the needs of our local population and the factors driving this demand within our region?” This should be done in collaboration with providers and other local authorities, especially in two-tier areas.
3. Data-Driven Planning: “The SHIP pilots identified the need for data driven planning, to identify the gaps in service provision and ensure that the appropriate referral pathways are set up.”

Data Sources

15. Councils should utilise a range of data sources:

1. Strategic Partners: Establishing or strengthening relationships with “mental health support services, social landlords, NHS Trusts, homelessness support organisations, domestic violence support services, and wider voluntary sector organisations.”
2. Demographic Tools: “Census, ONS population projections, Public Health Profiles, Indices of Multiple Deprivation, Homelessness applications, Social care data, JNSAs, Hospital population, Housing register, Existing supported housing population data.”
3. Projection Tools: “Projecting Older People Population Information (POPPI)” and “Projecting Adult Needs and Service Information (PANSI).”
4. Best Practice: Hull City Council’s collaboration with Homeless Link to align accommodation availability with demographic trends and turnover rates is cited as “a great example of a council working effectively at the intersection between data and partnerships.”

Move-On Pathways and Proactive Market Shaping

16. Robust strategies are essential for planning “move on pathways” to independent living or longer-term placements.

1. Coordinated Effort: Clear processes for liaison with internal council departments, housing providers, and care/support organisations are needed.
2. Needs-Driven Approach: Moving towards placements that are “needs driven and outcome focussed as opposed to councils being dictated solely by what is available within the market (market driven).”
3. Best Practice: Kirklees Council’s Collaborative Move-On Pathway (C-MOP) helps individuals transition to the private rented sector, with the Housing Solutions Service having “first refusal on the void space in the supported housing scheme.”
4. Market Shaping: Councils can “work proactively to shape the market dynamics based on local needs,” as demonstrated by “Leicestershire County Council [adopting] a market-shaping strategy through its investment prospectus.” Bristol City Council’s “rigorous tender processes for providers, focussing on quality whilst achieving value for money” is also highlighted.

Roles and Responsibilities

17. Clear assignment of roles is crucial.

1. Local Authorities: “Secure funding for commissioning services,” “Quality assure services,” “Assess the admissibility of HB claims,” “Coordinate strategic relationships,” “Undertake thorough needs assessments,” “Lead market-shaping efforts,” and “Implement safeguarding protocols.”
2. Housing Providers: “Collaborate with councils,” “Provide safe, high-quality accommodation,” “Maintain transparency,” “Provide appropriate information to verify claims for HB,” and “Comply with contractual & forthcoming national quality standards.”
3. Care and Support Services: “Deliver high-quality care and support,” “Ensuring co-production of services with residents,” “Align with regional and national standards,” and “Support residents with their needs or to achieve independence.”
4. NHS: “Provide healthcare services integrated with supported housing,” “Collaborate with councils to align housing with health priorities,” and “Share data with councils.”

Optimising Internal Relationships

18. Effective supported housing management requires strong collaboration between internal LA teams, adopting a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach.

Building Internal Bridges

1. Whole Council Approach: “Housing strategy teams, social care, compliance and HB teams, commissioners and procurement officers work together cohesively.”
2. Shared Priorities: “Coventry and Hull councils who have co-ordinator roles which work across internal council departments. This has enabled these organisations to identify shared priorities.”
3. Preventing Homelessness: “Benefits teams shouldn’t make decisions without considering the knock on impact on homelessness teams.”

Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs)

19. MDTs integrate professionals from various departments to deliver cohesive housing and support.

1. Integrated Approach: Kirklees Council’s MDT approach “has streamlined the assessment of supported housing claims by integrating HB officers, SHIP contract & monitoring officers, and SHIP housing compliance/property standards officers.”
2. Knowing Local Provision: The key principle is to “ask: Do we ‘know’ our local service provision and what they were commissioned for and how they are performing?”
3. Best Practice: “Coventry Council has nurtured strong internal relationships. They have a dedicated eviction prevention panel, delivered through an MDT approach with internal council teams. This group also works actively with providers to tackle issues early, reducing evictions and preventing homelessness.”

Leveraging Data

20. Councils should use internal dashboards to track referrals, occupancy rates, and compliance inspection schedules.

1. Systemic Issue Identification: “Maintaining accurate datasets can support bids or business cases for regional or national funding initiatives.”
2. Best Practice: “Kirklees Council SHIP team is an example of data driven planning, utilising the Northgate and Business Objects systems for weekly reporting.”

Training and Development

21. Investing in ongoing training for council staff across various departments is essential, covering “latest legislative changes, safeguarding protocols, quality standards and raising awareness of key events.”

Process Breakdowns Between LA Tiers

22. In two-tier LAs, fragmentation can lead to gaps. The SHROA will give housing authorities “the duty and accountability to assess local needs, develop strategic responses, and implement a licensing programme.” Solutions include “mechanisms for consistent and structured communication,” “formal governance structures,” and “shared data platforms.”

Optimising External Relationships

23. Councils play a key role in shaping supported housing through collaboration with external partners, ensuring provision meets the interconnected needs of the local population.

Partnerships

1. Health and Housing Inequalities: Councils should “proactively engage with housing providers, NHS partners and care and support organisations to address health and housing inequalities through supported housing.”
2. System Benefits: Strong partnerships enable “faster discharge and reduction in pressure on acute care services,” and help ensure “people are being housed in appropriate accommodation based on their specific needs on the first attempt.”
3. Key Organisations: NHS Trusts, mental health services, substance misuse recovery programmes, domestic violence support, homelessness support services/charities, and older peoples organisations and forums.
4. Best Practice: “Cornwall Council and Coastline Housing… operate a purpose-built scheme called Chi Winder, where individuals receive personalised support packages and access to an on-site GP service.” Also, “St Basil’s in the West Midlands, demonstrate how collaboration with specialist providers can improve outcomes for young people with support needs.”

Cost Savings and Effective Supported Housing

24. Supported housing delivers significant public sector savings.

1. NHF Projections: “England will need 219,127 additional supported housing units by 2040.” Current provision “estimated to already save £3.5 billion annually through reduced demands on crisis, homelessness, and care systems.”
2. Delayed Discharge: In 2023/24, “109,029 hospital bed days were lost due to waiting for supported housing,” costing the NHS “£56 million.”
3. Actionable Insights: Councils can “use local planning and demographic data to model the likely number of supported housing units needed,” “embed supported housing targets into housing strategies,” and “develop costed business cases that demonstrate downstream savings.”

Voluntary and Community Sector

25. The voluntary sector is a key partner, offering “deep rooted connections within the local community” and “culturally sensitive support and targeted interventions.” Collaboration with homelessness charities like Crisis can “enhance their approach to tackling homelessness and supporting individuals with support needs.”

Data Sharing

26. Reviewing data sharing agreements with local system partners is crucial to ensure “timely service delivery to a high standard.” This includes agreed-upon processes for escalating concerns and safeguarding issues.

Compliance and Collaboration Balance

27. Councils must balance maintaining rigorous oversight with fostering productive relationships with providers to ensure high-quality schemes and address rogue practices.

Clear Expectations and Standards

1. Local Quality Charters: Councils can create charters outlining “minimum service requirements.”
2. SHROA Principles: Standards will be based on the person-centred, respectful, safe and responsive, effective, and well-led principles.
3. Best Practice: “Hull City Council is a stand out example of its work during the SHIP pilot, effectively communicating the standards.”

Communicating Standards for Commissioned Providers

28. Commissioned providers operate under formal contracts, allowing for greater control through existing procurement and contract management processes.

1. Key Measures: “Contractual performance metrics,” “Resident outcomes,” “Compliance and quality standards” (e.g., CQC), “Housing Benefit (HB) coordination,” “Financial accountability,” and “Regular monitoring and reviews.”
2. Avoiding Duplication: Focus on “leveraging existing processes effectively, avoiding unnecessary administrative burdens.”

Communicating Standards for Non-Commissioned Providers

29. Non-commissioned providers operate without formal contracts, requiring different approaches.

1. Current Levers: “HB scrutiny, environmental health enforcement… and referring to relevant regulatory standards including the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), Charity Commission or CQC.”
2. Future Impact of SHROA: Licensing will provide effective frameworks.
3. Soft Levers: Offering “referral routes or move-on support as an incentive for engagement.”
4. Key Focus: “Accurate and justifiable claims for HB rates,” “Compliance with minimum standards,” “Resident Safeguarding and Welfare,” and “Inspection and monitoring” (risk-dependent).

Supporting Well-Intentioned Providers

30. Councils can provide “advice and guidance on topics such as safeguarding, compliance and effective service delivery,” and facilitate “advisory forums.” Tangible partnerships like “establishing referral pathways into non-commissioned provision where the provider meets local standards” can also encourage buy-in.

Strengthening Assurance and Proactive Oversight

31. Robust oversight includes developing processes to respond to complaints promptly and scheduling planned inspections.

1. Culture of Trust: “Councils to instil a culture of trust with providers whilst also understanding that they are providing schemes for individuals with support needs.”
2. Proportionate Actions: “It is important that councils do not introduce inappropriate monitoring measures or duplication of other quality assurance regimes.”
3. Best Practice: “Hull City Council has a preference for improvement notices over immediate benefit suspensions,” allowing providers to improve.

Managing Rogue Providers and Tackling Exploitation

32. Councils must use a strong multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach to ensure providers are “delivering an eligible supported housing scheme, aimed at supporting individuals with support needs.”

1. Collaboration: “It is imperative that the support quality and housing/property standards compliance teams… are speaking to the HB teams in order to effectively audit and detect inflated rent or unsupported cost structures.”
2. Proactive Measures: “Following the SHROA’s implementation, councils may introduce gateway approval processes for new providers.” “Developing relationships with neighbouring councils can provide the opportunity for intelligence sharing.”
3. Resident Protection: Proactive support for residents to prevent illegal evictions and managing the rehousing process should be an “absolute priority.”
4. Best Practice: “Bristol City Council not only reduced subsidy losses through rigorous oversight… but has also effectively prevented homelessness through proactive supported accommodation development and strategic partnerships.”

Managing Relationships with Registered and Non-Registered Providers

33. “If the exempt accommodation is provided by a registered provider, the LA can claim 100 per cent subsidy for eligible HB payments.” For non-registered providers, “the subsidy arrangements are different, regardless of the nature or quality of the service.”

1. Addressing Subsidy Loss: Focus on “ensuring claims are robustly evidenced.”
2. Sector View: “Aligning subsidy eligibility with quality standards would support a more rational and equitable funding model.”
3. Strategic Engagement: Councils can “engage directly with those already building through Homes England grant funding” to increase RP provision.
4. Future Licensing: “Keeping costs low is essential,” “Collaboration across councils is also crucial,” and “Councils are encouraged to take a risk-based approach to licensing.”
5. Best Practice: “Cornwall Council adopted a targeted approach to reduce its £4.2 million annual Housing Benefit (HB) subsidy loss” by supporting providers to lease schemes to established umbrella RPs.

Reviewing HB Claims for Supported Housing

34. Councils must balance financial oversight with ensuring essential housing services.

1. Understanding Regulations: Accommodation must meet the definition of “specified accommodation,” which includes “Exempt Accommodation,” “Managed properties,” “Refuges,” and “LA Hostels,” with most requiring “more than minimal care, support, or supervision.”
2. LA HB Team Responsibilities: “Assessing SEA claims to ensure they meet the criteria” and “Determining whether rent levels and service charges reflect real and reasonable costs.”
3. Consistency: The “application of this guidance when assessing care, support and supervision has not been consistent, leading to concerns from providers.”
4. Best Practice: “Establishing clear internal processes,” “Cross-department collaboration” (HB, commissioning, homelessness), and “Conducting reasonable scrutiny without unnecessary delay.”
5. Managing Disputes: “Early engagement is key,” “Use improvement plans where possible,” and “Maintain a fair and transparent appeals process.”
6. Future Changes: The DWP has consulted on “linking HB entitlement to the new licensing regime and defining care, support and supervision within the HB regulations.”

Managing HB Suspensions in Supported Housing

35. A structured and proportionate approach is essential.

1. Engagement First: “Prioritise engagement with providers, offering clear expectations and an opportunity for improvement before taking action on HB claims.”
2. Hull Example: “Hull has used a three-month improvement period, allowing providers to either enhance their support offer or make alternative housing arrangements for residents.”
3. Accountability: “While HB decision-makers must ensure compliance… landlords and support providers are responsible for delivering the required support.”
4. Case-by-Case: “A case by case approach is essential when addressing failing SEA schemes.” “In Leeds, every HB decision related to supported housing has been upheld when challenged, demonstrating the importance of robust evidence collection.”
5. Best Practice: “Derby City Council recently faced a situation where HB payments had to be suspended… A key priority for the council was to minimise disruption for residents,” leading to only nine residents requiring rehousing after extensive engagement.

Residents at the Centre of Supported Housing

36. Placing residents at the core of supported housing strategies is paramount for achieving meaningful and sustainable outcomes.

Understanding Resident’s Needs

1. Holistic Approach: Thorough “individual needs assessments” considering “physical, mental, spiritual, and social support requirements,” integrated with care, healthcare, and voluntary organisations.
2. Population Needs Assessment: Links back to the need for a comprehensive understanding of the local population’s demographics and needs.

Ensuring Resident Voice and Co-production

1. Active Listening: Councils must “actively listen to the needs of residents and ensuring their voices shape the services they rely on.”
2. Feedback Mechanisms: Regular opportunities for feedback through “surveys, focus groups, or resident advisory panels.”
3. Co-production: Involving residents “in the design and evaluation of supported housing schemes.”
4. Best Practice: Councils can partner with providers to “develop personalised, resident-focused practices into the design and delivery of services,” creating “psychologically informed environments.”

Promoting Independence

37. Supported housing should be “a stepping stone towards greater independence wherever possible.”

1. Structured Pathways: Enabling residents to “build life skills, access education or employment, and transition to more independent living arrangements.”
2. Outcome-Focused Approach: Councils play a crucial role in driving this, ensuring “measurable outcomes” are built into commissioning processes, focusing on “tenancy sustainment, improved mental health, reduced reliance on crisis services, and increased engagement with the wider community.”

Safeguarding Residents and Upholding Rights

1. Robust Protocols: Ensuring “robust safeguarding protocols are in place, protecting residents from exploitation, abuse, or neglect.” This includes “regular monitoring of provider safeguarding processes, clear escalation routes for concerns, audits of safeguarding training completion rates, and encouraging clear whistleblowing procedures.”
2. Upholding Rights: Ensuring “residents understand their entitlements, such as access to support services, the right to safe and decent housing, and pathways for raising complaints or concerns.”

Measuring Outcomes

38. Outcomes should be “measurable, meaningful and reflective of resident priorities.” Key metrics could include:

1. Stability: “Increased tenancy sustainment rates and reduced evictions/decommissioned services.”
2. Wellbeing: “Improvements in residents mental and physical health.”
3. Independence: “Greater uptake of education, training and employment opportunities, as well as successful transition into ‘move on’ pathways.”
4. Community Integration: “Enhanced participation in social or community activities.”

Nurturing a Culture of Respect and Dignity

39. “Supported housing is not just about providing a service; it is about creating a home where people feel valued, supported, and empowered to lead fulfilling lives.” Councils must create a system that “places dignity, wellbeing, and independence at its core, ensuring that housing schemes support not just compliance, but real, lasting impact for residents.”

Conclusion

40. The SHROA presents a critical opportunity for councils to enhance the quality, accountability, and resident-centricity of supported housing.

41. Addressing the challenges requires a coordinated local response across commissioned and non-commissioned provision.

42. While licensing will be a key tool, councils already possess important levers such as “proportionate scrutiny of HB claims, implementation of housing standards through environmental health teams, and partnership with national regulators.”

43. Ultimately, by fostering transparent communication, supportive relationships, data sharing, and resident feedback, LAs can build “sustainable local market[s] of providers that can meet diverse needs without exploitation or risk,” ensuring supported housing truly serves as “a pathway to safety, stability, and independence.”

Contents of the LGA Report 

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