Supported Housing Licensing Regime
Licensing Regime
The licensing regime (the Regime) will include all types of supported housing that are eligible to claim Housing Benefit and the Regime has extended to include the definition of “supported exempt accommodation under s12 of the Act. This includes accommodation that is provided by a housing association or registered charity and where that housing association or charity are also providing the resident with care, support or supervision.
Licensing Application Process
The Government has confirmed that the application for a licence under the Regime will be simplified and that a licence must be obtained by the person managing or in control of supported housing properties in each licensing district and not for each individual scheme. The licence will instead list the specific addresses that the licence holder is authorised to operate.
The proposed regulations will allow for changes to be made to a licence under specific circumstances and a new application will not been to be made. A specific address can be removed from a licence if it does not comply with any licence conditions.
The person making the application must be ‘fit and proper’ to manage or be in control of the supported accommodation. An application must also list all of the services to be included in the licence and service manager details for each scheme.
Once an application has been made, the licensing authority will need to assess the application, which will include undertaking inspections of the schemes and request additional information as necessary.
Key contacts
Samantha Grix
Partner
Narin Masera
Solicitor
Exemptions
The original list of exemptions has been expanded to include low-risk supported housing that is already regulated, by the Regulator of Social Housing (the RSH), for example.
The complete list of exempt supported housing is:
1. Supported housing provided/commissioned by the Ministry of Justice that provides temporary accommodation (TA) to persons leaving custody, the including CAS2 scheme.
2. Supported housing which contains at least one Ofsted-regulated bed, for residents up to the age of 25.
3. Any accommodation which is managed or controlled by a local authority in England where the support is commissioned by the local authority or a public body.
4. Commissioned domestic abuse services
5. Supported housing for older people over the age of 55 including Extra Care schemes which are regulated by the RSH.
6. Almshouses (as defined by paragraph 12, Schedule 1 of the Housing Act 1985).
Providers who operate schemes that fall within the exempt list will need to inform the applicable local authority of their exemption. A local authority may disagree with the exemption. In such circumstances, the provider will have a right of appeal.
There will also be guidance provided by the Government in relation to the exempt supported housing.
The Licence Holder
The licence holder must be the person who is ‘managing or in control’ of the supported housing. Responses to the Consultation raised concerns relating to the fact that a number of organisations can be involved in the delivery of a scheme, such as a landlord and a managing agent.
The Government acknowledges this reality and expects organisations to agree between themselves who the appropriate licence holder should be, bearing in mind any guidance or case law. Organisations are also encouraged to contact the licensing authority where they are in doubt.
The licensing guidance, to be published at a date to be determined, will include case studies for the organisation that would be expected to apply for and hold the licence, but in many cases, this will likely be the managing agent.
Commissioned services are also exempt from the Regime as there is already adequate oversight of the support provided. This meant that any service where the local authority or other public body such as the NHS, has contracted a support service in a property will not be required to apply for a licence.
The Fit and Proper Persons Test
The Fit and Proper Persons Test (FPPT) will ensure that those running supported housing have the necessary skills and experience to do so. The licence holder will be required to meet the FPPT but there is now also a requirement for the Board of Directors (one director is to be nominated) to also meet the FPPT where the licence holder is an organisation.
The FPPT will be similar to the test used by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission and it will required the licence holder to be a person of integrity and good character and have relevant skills and experience to manage and/or control a scheme.
Licensing Conditions
There are 5 requirements in respect of licensing under the Regime, including:
1. The standard of accommodation
a. The accommodation is of good quality and meets existing accommodations requirements and standards relevant to its housing tenure (such as the Decent Homes Standard or the Health and Safety Rating System).
b. There will be proportionality and flexibility upon assessing the property standard.
c. If there is enforcement action being taken against a Category 1 hazard, the licence application should be refused.
2. The use of accommodation
a. The accommodation should fit the needs of residents.
b. At the very least, the accommodation should be safe, accessible and well-maintained.
3. Conditions relating to the provision of care, support and supervision
a. Where care is provided in supported housing, the care provider must be CQC registered.
b. Any service that is not registered care must comply with the Standards unless exempt.
4. The Needs Assessment
a. A needs assessment should be completed when a resident moves into a scheme, but if this is not possible, within four weeks of the residing moving in.
b. The needs assessment must comply with the Standards and be completed by a suitably skilled and experienced person.
5. Suitability Tests for Service Managers
a. Licence holders must also be held accountable for the staff employed in supported housing, therefore, individuals responsible for the daily running of a scheme (service managers) must have the character, capacity, appropriate experience and skills required to undertake the role. This must be confirmed by the licence holder whilst making their licensing application.
National Supported Housing Standards
A provider must show compliance with the National Supported Housing Standards (the Standards).
The Government has made numerous changes to the proposed Standards as the responses to the Consultation expressed concerns that the in circumstances where the support and housing are delivered by separate organisations, it would be difficult for the support provider to evidence in the standards which fell within the housing elements of the licence.
The changes have been made to ensure that all of the evidence required in accordance with the Standards can be provided by the support provider and that any housing element will need to be met through the Regime.
Therefore, the Standards have been updated as follows:
1. Person-Centred Standard
a. The inclusion of the role of an advocate for residents.
b. An emphasis placed on consistency of support rather than the same support worker.
c. The criteria for moving on has also been made wider.
2. Environment Standard
a. Removal of references to emergency placement referrals.
b. In circumstances where a provider does accept emergency placements, they will need to have a policy to manage associated risks of the same.
c. There must be a process for residents to report routine and emergency repairs.
3. Staff and Safeguarding Standard
a. Safeguarding measures added as a separate requirement.
b. The requirement for safeguarding and managing anti-social behaviour training has been added.
c. The performance management process has been updated to reward achievements and address poor performance.
4. Local Need Standard
a. Will not require the resident to meet a ‘local connection’ test.
b. Will require local providers to evidence they meet the standard only once the relevant local authority supported housing strategy has been published.
c. A rationale will need to be provided when accepting out of area placements.
5. Responsible Person Standard
a. This standard has been removed as the licence holder is required to provide details of a service manager for licensed addresses. As above, the service manager will be required to be suitable for their role and therefore, this standard was considered duplicative.
6. Statement of Purpose Standard
a. Streamlined as it has removed the housing provider responsibilities which fall within the Regime, set out above.
b. Providers no longer need to include the location of the scheme in its statement due to safety concerns. The Statement of Purpose can instead be displayed at the scheme.
The full Standards can be found within the Government’s response.
Linking Housing Benefit to the Licensing Regime
The Regime will be linked to Housing Benefit as 70% of the responses indicated that the two regimes should be linked. The intention behind this is that the need for a scheme to be licensed under the Regime in order for a claimant to receive Housing Benefit will serve as an effective compliance tool and ensure that taxpayer money is only paid to those organisations who deliver the correct level of care, support or supervision.
During the Consultation, numerous risks were raised in respect of protecting residents in circumstances where providers fail to obtain a licence.
The risks and their mitigation measures are:
1. Risk of residents being evicted:
a. There are existing mitigation measures in place to support residents at risk of eviction but that there will be cases where it is in the resident’s best interest to seek alternative supported accommodation or general needs accommodation where appropriate.
b. There is also the expectation that local authorities will take a risk based approach to licensing. If a licence has been rewarded and there are breaches, providers will have three months to take remedial actions.
c. Local authorities will be expected to take an active part in ensuring residents are re-housed in appropriate accommodation.
d. Local authorities are also expected to publish supported housing strategies by 31 March 2027 which will assist in stabilising the supported housing sector.
2. Residents may be financially disadvantaged:
a) It is suggested that any resident who is financially disadvantaged may be eligible for a Housing Payment from their local authorities Crisis and Resilience Fund.
b) There may be issues for residents who are required to claim Universal Credit, instead of Housing Benefit but the government have asserted it is for the local authority to asses whether the accommodation meets the specified accommodation requirement. The government has shown a commitment to providing guidance for those administering both Housing Benefit and Universal Credit.
Scrapped Provisions
New Planning Use Class for Supported Housing
It was clear from the Consultation that the majority of respondents felt that the proposed planning use class would prove to be an obstruction to developing new supported housing, whilst local authorities were of the opinion that this would allow them to better regulate quality and control the amount of supported housing in specific areas.
The Consultation responses also demonstrated concerns regarding the fact that it is difficult to receive local authority and local supported from residents in the area for new supported housing development and therefore, the Government have made the decision not to implement a new planning use for supported housing. This decision will be reviewed after three years and a decision must be made on the introduction of a new planning use class at this later date.
Definition of Care, Support and Supervision in the Housing Benefit Regulations
The Government had proposed to include a definition of ‘care, support and supervision’ within the Regulations in order to strengthen the Regulations by overriding existing case law.
The Consultation returned a mixture of responses and there was no clear consensus regarding the proposed definition as a person-centred approach is required and the supported housing needs of individuals vary and change.
The Government has confirmed that at this stage, a definition of ‘care, support and supervision’ will not be introduced until after the Regime has been introduced and the operational landscape is clearer.
What happens next?
Following release of the Consultation response, regulations under s5 of the Act (relating to the Regime) are being drafted and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government intends to consult on them in late 2026.
Should you have any queries or need advise on the impending provisions and how they impact your organisations, please contact Narin Masera and Samantha Grix.
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