The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act

The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 became law in August 2023. The Act gives the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government powers to:

• Introduce National Supported Housing Standards for England, which will provide minimum standards for both the property and the care or support provided in supported homes. 
• Require English local authorities to create locally led supported accommodation licensing schemes. 
• Introduce a strategic planning duty for local authorities, which will include collecting data on the supply of homes, a forecast of future need, and a delivery plan. 
• Create a national expert advisory panel to monitor the sector, which will report to the Secretary of State. 

At the NHF, we support the aim of the Act to tackle poor quality exempt accommodation, whilst being committed to helping good quality providers of vital services have their voices heard.  

Catch up on our webinar 

The NHF hosted a webinar on 4 March which was attended by MHCLG and DWP.

Representatives from the government discussed the consultation, and NHF members had an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback on the consultation.  

February 2025 briefing on the content of the consultation:

Published in February 2025, this policy briefing for NHF members explains the content of the consultation and how it applies to supported housing providers. This briefing explores:  

• What is in the consultation?  
• Who does the Act apply to?  
• The National Supported Housing Standards.  
• The detail of the locally led licensing regime.  
• Linking licensing to entitlement to receive Housing Benefit.  
• A new planning use class for supported housing.  
• Changing Housing Benefit regulations to define care, support and supervision.  

NHF members can access this consultation using the links below.

April 2025 briefing on initial views from the sector:

This briefing, published in April 2025, gathers together views from NHF members and the sector. This comes after extensive consultation with members and conversations with MHCLG and DWP. This briefing covers:

• The scope of the proposals.
• Interaction with existing regulation.
• The detail of the licensing regime.
• A new planning use class for supported housing.
• Linking Housing Benefit with standards and licensing.
• Defining care, support and supervision in Housing Benefit regulations. 
• Funding to implement the proposals. 

NHF members can access this briefing using the link at the bottom of this page.

Join the National Supported and Older Persons’ Housing Network 

Join our National Supported and Older Persons’ Housing Network to feed into the NHF’s response and help shape our work. Please contact our admin team to join the mailing list.