The Exempt Accommodation Project

The Exempt Accommodation Project (EAP) is a nationally recognised partnership model from Supported Housing People (SHP) that helps councils manage housing benefit subsidy loss, helps supported housing providers secure sustainable housing benefit funding, strengthens governance and compliance in advance of SHROA, and sustains high-quality services for people with additional needs.

Established in 2021, the project has grown into a collaborative network of registered providers and supported housing organisations committed to good practice, financial sustainability, SHROA compliance and positive resident outcomes.

A Practical Solution to Funding and Regulatory Challenges

The EAP was created to address a long-standing problem in supported housing: many non-registered supported housing providers struggle to secure full enhanced Housing Benefit for Intensive Housing Management services, despite delivering essential services to residents. Through carefully structured partnerships with good registered providers, the EAP enables local authorities to fully reclaim eligible Housing Benefit subsidy while ensuring supported housing schemes remain properly resourced.

In addition to exempt accommodation, the model is increasingly being used as a solution to temporary accommodation subsidy loss, helping local authorities reduce financial pressures while maintaining accommodation provision for people with additional needs.

How the Model Works

The EAP links council-approved supported housing providers with community-based registered providers through short-term lease arrangements with break clauses and tried-and-tested management agreements. The project:

• Structures and manages lease and management arrangements.
• Reviews Housing Benefit claims to ensure appropriate cost recovery.
• Delivers ongoing governance, oversight and performance monitoring.
• Supports providers and registered providers throughout the arrangement lifecycle.

Added Regulatory Assurance

A key strength of the EAP model is that it introduces an additional layer of collaborative regulatory oversight. By bringing registered providers into formal partnership arrangements with supported housing providers, the model provides enhanced governance, transparency and accountability.

The EAP believes these arrangements are well aligned with the objectives of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act (SHROA), promoting stronger oversight, quality assurance, information sharing and continuous improvement across supported housing services.

Trusted Registered Provider Partnerships

The project currently works with six registered provider partners, including:

• Two YMCA-affiliated registered providers.
• One former YMCA registered provider.
• A specialist mental health registered provider.
• A specialist women’s refuge registered provider.
• Additional community-based registered providers with strong social missions.

All registered provider partners have a positive regulatory standing, with no regulatory notices or judgements and are stock holding supported housing providers in their own right. Every supported housing provider participating in the programme has local authority approval and has undergone comprehensive due diligence.

Scale and Impact

The EAP has grown from an innovative concept into a substantial national programme:

• Nearly 3,000 units of supported housing currently operate under the oversight of EAP registered provider partners.
• A further 3,000 units are in development or progressing through the pipeline.
• The model supports councils, providers and residents across England.
• The arrangements are helping local authorities protect and maximise Housing Benefit and temporary accommodation subsidy recovery at nil cost.

Based on typical exempt accommodation subsidy recovery differentials, the EAP partnership model is estimated to protect local authorities from between £15 million and £20 million per year in subsidy losses across its existing portfolio alone.

A Community of Good Practice

The EAP operates as more than a contractual framework. It is a collaborative community of good practice in which registered providers and supported housing organisations regularly share:

• Policies and procedures.
• Compliance approaches.
• Operational learning.
• Quality standards.
• Sector intelligence and emerging best practice.

This collaborative approach promotes consistency, continuous improvement and strong governance throughout the network.

A Values-Led, Cost-Neutral Partnership Model

All EAP partnerships are values-led and built on rigorous due diligence, transparency and shared social purpose. Unlike many traditional agency management arrangements, the model is designed as a genuine partnership of equals.

Importantly, the arrangements are cost-neutral to registered providers, supported housing providers and councils (for which there is a very significant saving). Supported housing providers retain ownership or head lease control of their properties, and operate very much as before whilst registered providers have an appropriate role in compliance and oversight, and residents benefit from properly funded, sustainable services that meet local needs.

The result is a proven partnership model that strengthens governance, supports regulatory compliance, protects public subsidy, and enables people to access high-quality supported housing across England.