If you work in this sector, you have probably sat in a meeting where the commissioner says "supported living", the landlord says "supported housing" and someone from the housing team says "exempt". You nod along and wonder whether you are all talking about the same building.
You are not always talking about the same thing. The three terms overlap, but they come from three different rulebooks, and the label on a scheme changes how it is funded, who regulates it and whether it may need a licence. Getting it right at the start of a project saves a lot of pain later.
The quick answer
- Supported living is a care model. Someone has their own tenancy and receives care and support under a separate arrangement.
- Supported housing is a housing category. In law, the 2023 Act calls it "supported exempt accommodation".
- Exempt accommodation is a Housing Benefit status. It decides how the rent is paid.
One scheme can be all three. Or only one. The rest of this guide explains why.
What is exempt accommodation?
Exempt accommodation is the most tightly defined of the three, because it is a legal test for Housing Benefit. It sits in paragraph 4(10) of Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006, and it has two limbs:
- A resettlement place provided by a body that receives a Secretary of State grant under section 30 of the Jobseekers Act 1995.
- Accommodation provided by a non-metropolitan county council in England, a housing association, a registered charity or a voluntary organisation, where that body (or someone acting for it) also provides the tenant with "care, support or supervision".
So two things must be true: the landlord must be one of the named types of body, and the support must actually be delivered. Case law has said the support needs to be "more than minimal", and the test used has been whether it is likely to make a real difference to the person's ability to live in the property (MR Associates, summary of Upper Tribunal decisions).
Why does it matter? Because exempt accommodation sits outside certain Housing Benefit rules, so rents are not capped at standard Local Housing Allowance rates (House of Commons Library).
What counts as supported housing?
This is where it gets slippery. The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 does not actually define "supported housing". It defines "supported exempt accommodation" in section 12, and government has said the two should be read as meaning the same thing (GOV.UK consultation).
Section 12 covers four types of accommodation:
- exempt accommodation (as above)
- managed properties, where someone is admitted to meet a need for care, support or supervision and receives it
- refuges
- local authority hostels
The Act gives government powers to set national supported housing standards and to bring in local licensing. In its response, government confirmed that licensing will be extended to mirror the whole section 12 definition, linked to Housing Benefit entitlement. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government expects to consult on the regulations in late 2026 (GOV.UK government response).
What is supported living?
Supported living describes how someone lives and is supported. Picture a person with a learning disability who has their own tenancy in a shared house, with a care provider supporting them under a separate contract. That is supported living.
It is a care model, not a legal category. It does not appear as a defined term in section 12 or in the exempt accommodation definition. A supported living scheme might meet the exempt accommodation test, or it might not. The label on its own settles nothing, so always check the actual arrangements.
Where does CQC fit in?
CQC regulates care, not buildings. Its guidance on housing with care says people's own homes are not regulated under the "personal care" activity: only the care provided is. Where the housing and the personal care are covered by separate legal agreements, CQC generally registers and regulates only the personal care provider (CQC, "Housing with care" guidance, October 2015, so check for a newer version).
Care homes are different. A separate regulated activity, "accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care", covers residential accommodation provided together with care.
The result is that one scheme can involve two sets of obligations: a landlord with Housing Benefit and licensing duties, and a separate care provider with CQC registration. A scheme that offers support without personal care sits outside CQC registration for that support.
So what does the label change?
- Funding: exempt status decides how rent is met. Care funding for supported living is usually a separate agreement between the care provider and the commissioner.
- Regulation: CQC regulates personal care and other registered activities. Supported exempt accommodation falls within the 2023 Act, and registered providers of social housing are also regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing.
- Licensing: local licensing under the 2023 Act is aimed at supported housing within the section 12 definition, not at "supported living" as a label.
Why is it all so confusing?
Because the three terms come from three different systems: social security law, housing regulation, and health and social care regulation. Commissioners, landlords and care providers each use the word from their own system, and nothing joins them up. A single scheme can be described three different ways by three different people, all of them correct.
That is the gap OTHRS is being built to close: one shared platform where a scheme's housing status, care arrangements and regulatory position are recorded once, in consistent terms, and visible to commissioners, care providers, housing associations, developers and investors alike.
Frequently asked questions
What is exempt accommodation?
Exempt accommodation is housing that passes a Housing Benefit test. Either it is a resettlement place funded through a Jobseekers Act grant, or it is provided by a non-metropolitan county council in England, housing association, registered charity or voluntary organisation that also provides care, support or supervision. Exempt status sits outside certain Housing Benefit rules, so rents are not capped at standard Local Housing Allowance rates.
Is supported living the same as supported housing?
No. Supported living is a care model where care is usually delivered separately from the tenancy. Supported housing, in government usage, means the same as "supported exempt accommodation" as defined in the 2023 Act. A scheme can be both.
Does CQC regulate supported housing?
CQC regulates the personal care in supported living, not the home itself. A supported housing scheme is only in CQC scope if someone delivers a regulated activity there, such as personal care.
Will supported housing need a licence?
Government has confirmed licensing will mirror the whole section 12 definition of supported exempt accommodation, with consultation on the regulations expected in late 2026. Check the final regulations and your local authority before relying on any position.
Want one shared, verified view of supported housing schemes? See how OTHRS is being built to do it.
Sources
Legislation.gov.uk, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006, Schedule 3
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/217/schedule/3
Legislation.gov.uk, Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, section 12
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/26/section/12
Legislation.gov.uk, Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Schedule 1
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2936/schedule/1
House of Commons Library, "Supported exempt accommodation (England)"
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9362/
House of Commons Library, "The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023: debate in parliament"
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9668/
GOV.UK, "Supported Housing regulation: consultation"
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/supported-housing-regulation-consultation/supported-housing-regulation-consultation
GOV.UK, "Supported Housing regulation: consultation, government response"
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/supported-housing-regulation-consultation/outcome/supported-housing-regulation-consultation-government-response
Care Quality Commission, "Housing with care: Guidance on regulated activities for providers of supported living and extra care housing"
https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20151023_provider_guidance-housing_with_care.pdf
MR Associates, "What do we mean by support for the purposes of claiming the exempt rate of Housing Benefit"
https://www.mrassociates.org/blog/what-do-we-mean-by-support-for-the-purposes-of-claiming-the-exempt-rate-of-housing-benefit-part-1
National Housing Federation, "The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act"
https://www.housing.org.uk/resources/the-supported-housing-regulatory-oversight-act/
