Supported exempt accommodation in Birmingham

Faye Greaves; Hannah Cromarty; Siobhan Wilson

Supported exempt accommodation is a type of housing where people with specific needs are helped to live independently in the community. It is ‘exempt’ from rules that cap the amount of housing benefit people can receive to help pay their rent.

Different types of organisations providing supported housing are regulated by different bodies. There is currently no single regulatory system. There have been calls for greater regulation of the sector as well as concerns about the sector’s financial sustainability.

The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, which received Royal Assent on 29 June 2023, aims to strengthen regulation of the sector; in summer 2025, the government held a consultation on proposals to implement the act, and in January 2026 it said it would respond to the consultation “as soon as possible”.

Supported accommodation

‘Supported accommodation’ refers to a range of housing types that support people with specific needs to live as independently as possible in the community. This includes, for example, people who have experienced or are at risk of homelessness, people recovering from drug or alcohol dependence and people experiencing mental ill health. Supported housing can be short-term or long-term, depending on a person’s needs.

Supported housing is generally provided by housing associations, local authorities, and voluntary or charitable organisations that are usually not-for-profit. However, some private ‘for profit’ organisations also provide supported housing.

Some supported housing schemes have complex models where landlords lease buildings to managing agencies and subcontract or commission support services to other organisations.

Supported exempt accommodation

‘Supported exempt accommodation’ is a type of supported housing, which is exempt from the usual rules that cap the amount of housing benefit people can receive towards their rent. It is defined (in regulations) as:

a resettlement place; or
accommodation provided by a county council, housing association, registered charity or voluntary organisation where that body or person acting on their behalf provides the claimant with care, support or supervision.

The rationale for the exemption is that rents for supported accommodation are usually higher than rents for mainstream housing. This reflects, for example, higher maintenance; repairs and renewal; security and health and safety measures.

The Commons Library briefing on Supported exempt accommodation (England) (September 2023) provides further information.

The homelessness charity Crisis has also published a policy briefing on exempt accommodation (October 2021).

Regulation of supported housing

There is currently no single regulatory system for supported housing. Different types of organisations providing supported housing are regulated by different bodies. For example, registered housing associations are regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing, and charities are regulated by the Charity Commission. All providers that provide specific regulated activities (for example, providing personal care to people in their own homes) are required to register with the Care Quality Commission.

The government’s Housing Benefit guidance for supported housing claims (May 2022) provides further information on how supported housing is currently regulated.

Calls for greater regulation of the sector

In recent years there has been a concern that the supported housing sector, particularly supported exempt accommodation, is under-regulated. Issues have been identified with:

the standard of accommodation provided
the standard of support provided
the impact of poorly managed units on local neighbourhoods
rogue exempt accommodation operators exploiting gaps in the existing regulatory regime to profiteer

In 2022, the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee conducted an inquiry into exempt accommodation. The committee’s report, published on 27 October 2022, called on the government to urgently reform the sector. In particular, the committee recommended that the government bring forward a series of urgent reforms for the sector, including:

introducing compulsory national minimum standards for exempt accommodation, including on referrals, care and support, and quality of housing
giving local councils the powers and resources to enforce these standards
requiring all exempt accommodation providers to be registered
creating a National Oversight Committee to join-up existing regulators and mending the current ‘patchwork regulation’, which has too many holes
ensuring that for survivors of domestic abuse, providers of exempt accommodation have recognised expertise to provide specialist support and a safe environment
reviewing the system of exempt housing benefit claims and clamping down on the exploitation of the lease-based exempt accommodation model for profit

The Conservative government’s response to the committee, published on 27 June 2023, outlined the action it had taken, and intended to take, to address concerns about supported exempt accommodation. Key measures included:

A national statement of expectations for supported housing.
Five pilots in Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bristol, and Hull supported by £3 million. The pilots were established to help improve the quality, enforcement, oversight, and value for money of supported exempt accommodation.
£20 million for a supported housing improvement programme over three years from July 2022.
More rigorous oversight of the sector by the Regulator of Social Housing.
Government support for the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Bill, which was progressing through Parliament at that time.

The Commons Library briefing on The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023: debate in parliament (September 2023) provides further information.

Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023

The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act (SHROA) 2023 obtained Royal Assent on 29 June 2023. The act is intended to strengthen the regulation of supported exempt accommodation in England. It includes measures to:

require local authorities to review supported exempt accommodation in their areas and develop strategies to understand current availability and future needs
provide for the creation of a national expert advisory panel to advise on matters related to supported exempt accommodation
allow the Secretary of State to introduce national supported housing standards
allow local authorities to create local licensing schemes for supported exempt accommodation
allow the Secretary of State to introduce a new planning use-class for supported exempt accommodation

The Commons Library briefing on The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023: debate in parliament (September 2023) provides more detailed information about the act. The housing charity Shelter has also published a short briefing on Regulation of supported housing: next steps (August 2023). 

Implementation of the SHROA 2023

On 5 February 2025, the Labour government confirmed it was in the process of establishing a Supported Housing Advisory Panel.

Whilst the SHROA 2023 provides a legal framework, the detail will be set out in secondary legislation. On 20 February 2025, the government published a consultation on supported housing regulation to seek views on:

proposals to implement the measures set out in the SHROA 2023 (including the proposed licensing regime, national supported housing standards for the support provided, and a planning use class for supported housing); and
changes to Housing Benefit regulations.

The consultation closed on 15 May 2025.

In a written statement on 10 July 2025 the then Minister for Homelessness and Democracy, Rushanara Ali, confirmed the government would publish a consultation response after the summer 2025 recess, before consulting on draft regulations in early 2026.

In a response to a written parliamentary question on 13 January 2026, the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness, Alison McGovern, said:

The government remains absolutely committed to improving the quality of supported housing and implementing the measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.

The government will publish its response to the consultation as soon as possible, ahead of consulting on draft licensing regulations and guidance. We are also pressing forward with implementing other measures in the Act including the duty on local authorities to produce supported housing strategies, for which guidance will be published in February.

On 19 January 2026, the minister said “the Supported Housing Advisory Panel will be convened imminently, as soon as a Chair is in post.”

On 10 February 2026, the government published statutory guidance setting out the framework for local housing authorities in England to formulate and publish local supported housing strategies as required by the SHROA 2023. The government has announced £39 million in new burdens funding to local authorities to support implementation.

Concerns about supported housing funding

Multiple stakeholders have raised concerns about the financial sustainability of supported housing in England.

In April 2025, more than 170 organisations wrote to the Prime Minister warning that the sector was in crisis and calling for additional long-term funding for local authorities of at least £1.6 billion per year. Further correspondence from sector representatives in July 2025 highlighted potential risks associated with the government’s proposals for strengthened regulation.

In August 2025, the Local Government Association called on the government to increase funding for supported housing and issued new guidance to support local authorities to prepare for the implementation of the SHROA 2023.

A survey conducted by the National Housing Federation (NHF) (the membership body for housing associations) in August 2025 found that more than 50,000 specialist homes in England for people with support needs – equivalent to 1 in 10 – were at imminent risk of closure, due to ongoing funding challenges and rising operating costs. The NHF called on the government to “urgently commit to an emergency fund for services at imminent risk, and long-term and sustainable funding for support services”.

A government-commissioned Systems-wide evaluation of homelessness and rough sleeping, published in December 2025, concluded that funding constraints had reduced supported housing provision. It said this “contributes to system blockages and wider pressures on crisis services” and makes it harder for people to move off the streets or out of emergency accommodation.

Labour government policy

On 11 December 2025, the Labour government published A National Plan to End Homelessness. Alongside implementing the SHROA 2023 and appointing an independent Supported Housing Advisory Panel, the strategy includes commitments to:

invest £124 million over 2026/27 to 2028/29 to expand supported housing services for more than 2,500 people in targeted areas
produce a Supported Housing Toolkit to help councils consider the range of options for accommodation with support, and develop effective strategies that provide the types of accommodation with support that best meet their local area’s needs
carry out cross-government work to improve the value for money of homelessness services and supported housing
support the delivery of new supported housing through its new ten-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme from 2026/27 to 2035/36
introduce four earned income disregards (PDF) into Housing Benefit for supported housing residents from autumn 2026 to help remove barriers to employment

Supported exempt accommodation in Birmingham

Supported accommodation

Supported exempt accommodation

Regulation of supported housing

Calls for greater regulation of the sector

Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023

Implementation of the SHROA 2023

Concerns about supported housing funding

Labour government policy

Further reading

Press material

Reports

Parliamentary material

Parliamentary questions

Statements

Debates

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