Managing Housing Benefit Claims in Supported Housing | Part E: Tools and Appendices
This appendix maps each section of the DWP’s Housing Benefit guidance for supported housing claims to the chapters of this manual that discuss it, and summarises SHP’s view. It follows the version of the guidance updated on 1 April 2026. If the guidance is revised, check the paragraph numbers.
Status of the guidance. The guidance helps councils apply the law. It is not law, and where it departs from the regulations or the case law, the law prevails (Chapter 3). Most of it is consistent with the law and with good practice, and this manual agrees with it. Where SHP’s view differs, the table says so and points to the chapter that explains why.
Key to SHP’s view.
- Agreed: consistent with the law and with this manual.
- Agreed, with qualification: consistent, but needs to be read in a particular way or has a limit.
- SHP differs in part: part of the guidance does not reflect the case law, in SHP’s view.
- Background: context only; not discussed in detail.
By section of the guidance
| Paras | Section | SHP’s view | Comment | Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | What supported housing is, who it is for and who provides it | Background | Used in Chapter 1 | 1 |
| 7 to 11 | History of supported housing in Housing Benefit | Background | Read with the 2003 history in Chapter 7, 7.2 | 1 and 7 |
| 12 to 13 | The role of DWP and councils | Agreed | Councils’ strategic role includes Housing Benefit (para 13) | 3 and 17 |
| 14 to 19 | Housing policy in England, Scotland and Wales | Background | SHROA and licensing are covered in Chapter 17, 17.4 | 17 |
| 20 to 51 | Regulation: the Regulator of Social Housing, care regulators and charity regulators | Agreed | Refer concerns to the body that can act (Chapter 22, 22.3) | 22 |
| 52 to 63 | Raising concerns about a landlord or care provider | Agreed | Refer each concern to the body that can act on it | 22 |
| 64 to 70 | Universal Credit claimants in supported housing | Background | Chapter 1 | 1 |
| 71 to 75 | Specified accommodation and exempt accommodation | Agreed | The definitions are set out in Appendix 2, A2.1 | 1 and 2 |
| 76 to 88 | Managed properties, refuges and council hostels | Background | Chapter 1; exempt accommodation is the focus of this manual | 1 and 5 |
| 89 to 94 | Landlord types and councils | Agreed | The landlord is the body with the legal relationship with the tenant (Chapter 5) | 5, 13, 14 and 16 |
| 95 to 125 | Housing associations, charities, voluntary organisations, CICs and community benefit societies | Agreed | Check public registers first; examine constitutions and accounts proportionately (Chapters 5 and 13) | 5, 12, 13 and 16 |
| 126 to 133 | Lease-based supported housing schemes | Agreed | The questions are about how a model is used, not the model. SHP strongly supports para 133 (Chapter 11) | 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 and 22 |
| 134 to 135 | Requirement for the claimant to provide information | Agreed | Requests must be reasonably required and proportionate (Chapter 12) | 3, 12 and 16 |
| 136 to 137 | Care, support or supervision | Agreed, with qualification | “Ordinary meaning” should be read as the case law explains it (Chapters 3 and 6) | 3, 4, 6, 13, 15 and 16 |
| 138 to 141 | Care, support or supervision on behalf of the landlord | Agreed | Third-party support must be engaged by the landlord (R(H) 2/07; Chapter 5) | 3, 13, 15 and 16 |
| 142 to 149 | Determining need | Agreed | No formal assessment does not mean no need (para 147); public funding indicates need, but its absence is not evidence of no need (Chapter 14) | 3, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 22 |
| 150 to 154 | Whether care, support or supervision is sufficient | Agreed, with qualification | “No set number of hours” (para 151) is endorsed. Qualifications and one-to-one delivery are factors, not requirements (Chapter 8) | 3, 4, 6, 8, 14, 15 and 16 |
| 155 | Housing management and maintenance as support | SHP differs in part | First sentence agreed. That extra maintenance is “unlikely to be sufficient on its own” is a view, not a rule; IHM and maintenance can be sufficient (Chapter 7, 7.5; Chapter 8) | 3, 7, 8 and 15 |
| 156 to 158 | Floating support | Agreed, with qualification | Correct in principle, but often misapplied to dispersed and move-on accommodation, which can be exempt (Chapter 3, 3.4.2) | 3 |
| 159 to 165 | Funding of care, support or supervision and deductions | SHP differs in part | Correct for ineligible support actually provided. Not a basis for a notional deduction where the support relied on is eligible IHM and supervision (Chapter 3, 3.4.1; Chapter 16, Example 3) | 3, 13, 16 and 17 |
| 166 to 173 | Service charges, eligibility and sinking funds | Agreed | Consistent with regulation 12 and Schedule 1 (Chapter 9) | 3, 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18 and 22 |
| 174 to 176 | Services connected to adequate accommodation | SHP differs in part | Routine help with Housing Benefit is eligible (Allerdale). Staff costs for housing-related support and supervision delivered as IHM are eligible (Chapter 3, 3.4.3 and 3.4.4; Chapter 9) | 3 and 9 |
| 177 to 181 | Eligible and excessive service charges | Agreed, with qualification | Agreed, but comparables are not a precondition for finding a charge excessive (ET v Rossendale; Chapter 9) | 3 and 9 |
| 182 to 188 | Ineligible service charges, care and support | Agreed, with qualification | Correct for care and personal support. Some footnotes cite the wrong Schedule 1 sub-paragraph; cite the regulations directly. Para 187’s notional deduction: see paras 159 to 165 (Chapter 9) | 3, 9, 13 and 16 |
| 189 to 191 | Intensive housing management | SHP differs in part | The history is accurate. The last sentence of para 190, that charges for services meeting the CSS requirement “must be ineligible”, is inconsistent with Allerdale (Chapter 3, 3.4.1; Chapter 7, 7.2) | 3, 7, 9, 15 and 16 |
| 192 to 193 | Deducting ineligible service charges | Agreed | Consistent with Schedule 1, para 3 (Chapter 9) | 3 and 9 |
| 194 to 203 | Eligible rent, including exempt accommodation | Agreed | Exempt accommodation uses the old scheme rules (para 203; Chapter 10) | 3, 10, 12, 13, 16 and 18 |
| 204 to 211 | Determining unreasonably high rents | Agreed, with qualification | Local indicators are triggers for scrutiny, never caps; each case individually (para 210); no inquiry into the landlord’s costs (para 211; Chapter 10) | 1, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 22 |
| 212 to 219 | Unreasonably large and suitable alternative accommodation | Agreed, with qualification | Agreed. Para 219 applies only to unprotected claimants; for protected claimants the alternative must be available (para 227; Chapter 10) | 10 |
| 220 to 233 | Vulnerable claimants, availability and whether a move is reasonable | Agreed | Consistent with alternative regulation 13(4) and (9) (Chapter 10) | 10 |
| 234 | Restricting the rent | Agreed, with qualification | Agreed. The amount is a discretion and needs reasons (Mehanne; Chapter 10, 10.7) | 10 |
| 235 to 238 | Unreasonable rent increases | Agreed, with qualification | Agreed. Increases must also be judged in cash terms, and a lesser increase considered (BM; Chapter 10, 10.8) | 10, 12, 13, 16, 18 and 22 |
| 239 to 241 | Protections and notifying the claimant | Agreed | Reasons should cover every stage of the decision (Chapter 19) | 10, 19 and 20 |
| 242 to 253 | Rent Officer referrals | Agreed, with qualification | The determination is a starting point, not a cap (Aylesbury Vale, para 16); subsidy must not affect whether a rent is unreasonably high (para 243; Chapter 10) | 10 |
Where SHP’s view differs
These are the points where SHP considers that the guidance does not reflect the case law. They matter most in practice, because they are the most common sources of disagreement between councils and providers.
| Paras | What the guidance says | SHP’s position | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 155 | Extra maintenance because of tenants’ needs is “unlikely to be sufficient on its own” | A view, not a rule. Intensive housing management and maintenance can be sufficient support or supervision | Chorley BC v IT; Chorley BC v EM; Bristol CC v AW (Chapters 7 and 8) |
| 159 to 165, 187 | Where support is not separately funded, assume it is met through rent and deduct its cost | Applies only to ineligible support actually provided. It is not a basis for a notional deduction where the support relied on is eligible IHM and supervision | Allerdale BC v JD and Others (Chapter 3, 3.4.1; Chapter 16) |
| 174 | Help with claiming benefits is not eligible | Routine help with Housing Benefit is part of housing management and is eligible | Allerdale BC v JD and Others (Chapter 3, 3.4.3; Chapter 9) |
| 176 | All support services, related staff costs and rooms used for support are ineligible | Correct for care and personal support. Housing-related support and supervision delivered as IHM, and its staff and overheads, are eligible | Allerdale BC v JD and Others (Chapter 3, 3.4.4; Chapter 9) |
| 190 | Charges for services that help meet the CSS requirement “must be ineligible” | There is no automatic link between eligibility and exempt status | Allerdale BC v JD and Others, para 30 (Chapter 7, 7.2) |
Not in the guidance. Some points that often arise are not in the guidance at all. In particular, there is no rule that support must be provided for a minimum number of hours (para 151 says the opposite), no requirement that support be commissioned or funded from outside Housing Benefit, and no requirement for on-site staff (Chapters 3, 8 and 9).
Other DWP guidance referred to in this manual
| Document | Paras | Subject | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing Benefit overpayments guide, Part 4 | 4.12, 4.30 | Recovery from landlords and claimants | 21 |
| Housing Benefit overpayments guide, Part 4 | 4.170 to 4.182 | Blameless tenant recovery; hardship | 21 |
| Housing Benefit overpayments guide, Part 4 | 4.350 and 4.351 | Recovery is discretionary | 21 |
| Housing Benefit subsidy guidance manual 2025 to 2026 | General | Subsidy and its effect on decisions | 10, 21 |
| Supported housing: National Statement of Expectations | General | Needs assessment, local oversight and good practice examples (MHCLG, not DWP) | 14, 17, 22 |
Previous: Appendix 2: Extracts from the Legislation
Next: Appendix 4: Scheme Evidence Checklist
This manual is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0: you can share it freely, with credit to SHP, without changes. See Rights and licence. Supported Housing People Ltd, Version 1.0, October 2026.