The Supported Housing Blog is where Supported Housing People publishes its thinking on supported housing: the law, the funding and the policy that shape it, and what they mean in practice for the people who commission, provide, fund and live in it.
We write for council Housing Benefit, commissioning and housing teams, for registered and local authority approved supported housing providers, and for the advisers, boards and policy makers who work with them. Every post is grounded in the legislation, the case law and long experience of how supported housing works on the ground. Our aim is analysis that helps councils and providers find common ground, not take sides.
NEW: FREE GOOD PRACTICE MANUAL
Managing Housing Benefit Claims in Supported Housing
SHP’s free good practice manual for council Housing Benefit teams and supported housing providers. It brings together the legislation, the DWP guidance and thirty years of case law in one place, and explains what is reasonable when evidencing a claim, so that good decisions can be reached quickly and disputes avoided.
Five things the manual makes clear
- The DWP guidance is helpful, but it is not law. Where it differs from the case law, the case law applies.
- There is no minimum number of support hours. “More than minimal” is a modest, qualitative test.
- Intensive housing management and maintenance can be support and supervision in their own right.
- Evidence should be proportionate. Scheme evidence is provided once and reviewed, not requested with every claim.
- Contrivance is the right tool for exploitative arrangements, not for genuine providers.
22 chapters, 14 appendices and 10 editable templates. Version 1.0, October 2026. Free to read, download and share.
Built for both sides of the claim
Council Housing Benefit teams
A clear account of the law on exempt accommodation, rent restriction and contrivance, with model information requests, decision notices and a risk checklist that stands up on appeal.
Supported housing providers
What counts as care, support or supervision, how to evidence intensive housing management and maintenance, and how to build a rent and service charge case that a council can accept.
Advisers and partners
A shared reference point for commissioners, boards and representatives, with a model local protocol and data sharing agreement to put partnership working on a sound footing.
What we write about
Housing Benefit and case law
Enhanced Housing Benefit, exempt accommodation and what the tribunals have actually decided.
Policy and regulation
The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, licensing, national standards and local supported housing strategies.
Finance and funding
Rents, service charges, subsidy and the economics of providing good supported housing.
Latest thinking
- Rent Reasonableness in Exempt Accommodation: What the Case Law Actually SaysCouncils and providers both get this wrong, in opposite directions. Some councils treat the Rent Officer’s figure as a ceiling, or pick a local “benchmark” and restrict anything above it. Some providers think that, once a scheme is exempt, the rent can’t be challenged at all. Neither is right. The rules are old, the case law is spread across thirty years of decisions, and very little of it has been brought together with supported housing in mind. This post tries to do that.
- The “More Than Minimal” MythWhy Housing Benefit Decision-Making Sometimes Misunderstands Exempt Accommodation Introduction The legal requirement that care, support or supervision (CSS) be “more than minimal” for exempt accommodation purposes is well established. However,… Continue reading The “More Than Minimal” Myth
- “Intensive Housing Management and Maintenance are Support, Supervision and Sufficient”“Intensive Housing Management and Maintenance are Support, Supervision and Sufficient”. This note sets out the key case law underpinning a practical and defensible position for supported housing providers: that “Intensive housing management and maintenance are support, supervision and sufficient.” Remember where you heard that first! This is in circumstances where supported housing providers are often told by DWP and revenues and benefits colleagues that “care, support or supervision are not HB-eligible”, and that Intensive housing management and maintenance are not sufficient on their own. This isn’t true.
- What was the impact of Supported Housing People’s coproduced SHROA Consultation response?Exactly a year ago, we at Supported Housing People Ltd (SHP) were busy coordinating the supported housing sector’s co-produced SHROA Consultation Response template. Many people contributed to it, and even more used the final versions of the live document as their own organisational response to the Consultation. As you know, the government responded to that Consultation this month. Our response to the government’s response is generally very positive. We were keen to know what difference you made through the SHP Consultation response template. We did an analysis and mapped the SHP template response content directly to the government’s response to that Consultation. The very evident conclusion is that we have collectively made a massive difference. I mean, really big! This is a tribute to coproduction and cooperation. Thank you, everyone.
- The End of the Property-Led Exempt Accommodation Contrivance?I need to bring to your attention a very recent Upper Tribunal Judgment. Some of you may recall a BBC Panorama programme from a few years ago (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62497015), which focused on the charity My Space Housing Solutions. I have, for a long time, written and spoken about property-led entryism into the supported housing ecosystem by property developers, portfolio owners, lettings agents, etc., who see big profits from housing benefit, but have no emotional commitment to supported housing. This could be the end of that business model, and the sooner the better.
- SHROA : Progress Made: But the Job Isn’t Finished Oversight) Act consultation, and it has clearly listened. The direction of travel is broadly positive. However, while there are real improvements, SHROA is not quite “there” yet.
The Exempt Accommodation Project
Our work to raise standards in exempt accommodation and to separate good providers from a significant number of often property and/or investor-led landlords who have exploited the rules. Find out more about the project.
Need help applying this?
Supported Housing People works with councils and providers on scheme reviews, rent and service charge build-ups, Housing Benefit evidence, appeals, partnership protocols and training. Talk to SHP.