Supported housing licensing: what the draft regulations propose for housing associations and councils.

The government intends supported housing in every council area in England to be licensed. On 15 October 2026 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published the draft Supported Housing (Licensing) (England) Regulations 2027 for consultation, under powers in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. Anyone who controls or manages supported housing would need a licence from the local council, unless the housing falls into an exempt category, and the licence would carry conditions on accommodation standards and hazards.

The proposal at a glance

"Supported housing" here means supported housing as defined in section 12 of the 2023 Act. The consultation document says this mirrors the definition of specified accommodation in the Housing Benefit regulations. The proposals apply in England only.

Licensing in every council area

The draft lets a council designate its own district, and lets the Secretary of State designate the district of every local housing authority in England at once (regulations 3 and 4). The consultation document says the government intends to use the second route, so licensing would cover the whole country. A Secretary of State designation could not come into force earlier than six months after the council is notified, and within seven days of being notified the council would have to tell the supported housing providers it knows of in its area.

The consultation document puts the timetable this way: six months for councils to set up their schemes once designated, followed by a three-month transition period before it becomes an offence to operate without a licence. In the draft, the offences would start nine months after the regulations come into force, or three months after an England-wide designation takes effect, whichever is sooner. No date has been set: the draft says only "[date 2027]".

Who would need a licence, and who would be exempt

A person having control of, or managing, supported housing in a designated district would need a supported housing licence for it (regulation 8). Where more than one person controls or manages the same housing, the council would have to be satisfied that the proposed licence holder is the most appropriate of them to hold the licence (regulation 12).

Schedule 1 lists the types of supported housing that would be exempt. Exemption is not automatic: the person controlling or managing the housing would apply to the council for a notice confirming the exemption, and would have to tell the council if the housing may no longer qualify (regulation 9). Relying on an exemption that no longer applies would be an offence.

For housing associations, the only exemption specific to registered providers is the one for people aged 55 or over, and every condition in it has to be met. Other supported housing that a registered provider controls or manages would need a licence unless it falls into one of the other exempt types, such as a domestic abuse refuge. For councils, supported housing a council provides itself would be exempt on application. Supported housing a council commissions from someone else would still be licensed unless another exemption applies, but the continuing licence condition on meeting standards (Schedule 3, paragraph 11) would not apply to housing commissioned by the licensing authority; the consultation document says commissioned services must instead be commissioned in line with the National Supported Housing Standards.

Licence conditions: accommodation standards and hazards

Before granting a licence, the council would have to be satisfied that the housing meets the national supported housing standards and the applicable "Housing Standard", that no enforcement action is being taken in relation to a category 1 hazard, that the proposed holder is fit and proper, and that the service manager and management arrangements are suitable (regulation 12). The draft defines the Housing Standard in two ways:

• Social housing of a registered provider ("regulated housing" in the draft, which takes in housing association homes): any standard on the safety, security, comfort or quality of accommodation set under section 193(1) of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. The council would have to have regard to any relevant decision by the Regulator of Social Housing.
• Other supported housing: any requirements set in regulations under section 2A of the Housing Act 2004.

Once a licence is granted, Schedule 3 would require the holder to keep the housing meeting those standards, to keep it safe, well maintained (including regular cleaning of communal areas) and accessible for its intended residents, and, for housing that is not regulated housing, to ensure no enforcement action is taken in relation to a category 1 hazard. Other conditions cover a needs assessment for each resident within 4 weeks of moving in, personal care only from a provider registered under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, changes of key people, and paying the annual fee within 14 days of receiving notice of it.

Enforcement and penalties

• Information and warning notices. Where a council suspects a breach, it could ask for information or issue a warning notice setting out the improvement needed and a date, no more than three months away, to make it.
• Improvement notices and fines. If the holder does not agree or does not make the improvement, an improvement notice could follow with a final date (again no more than three months) and a financial penalty of up to £7,000. Failing to comply with an improvement notice could bring a penalty of up to £40,000.
• Power of entry. A person authorised by the council could enter at any reasonable time to survey or examine the premises, after giving at least 24 hours' notice to the licence holder and any occupier, and could take measurements, photographs and recordings (regulation 25).
• Revocation. A licence must be revoked if the holder stops being fit and proper. It may be revoked for serious or repeated breaches of conditions or for failing to comply with an improvement notice, and before revoking on those grounds the council would give the holder 28 days to make representations (regulation 23).
• Offences. Operating without a licence, breaching a condition or relying on a lapsed exemption would be offences, with a civil penalty under the Housing Act 2004 as an alternative to prosecution, and links to rent repayment orders and banning orders.

What it would mean for stock condition evidence and inspections

If the regulations are made in this form, the condition of each scheme would be tested when the council decides the application, and again whenever it suspects a breach of a licence condition. Several stages in the draft call for evidence of condition:

• The application. It lists the addresses, the types of supported housing and the number and type of dwellings (regulation 11), so you would need an accurate register of which schemes and units are in scope. Under the draft, a rise or fall of more than 5 units needs a variation approved in advance; 5 or fewer is notified afterwards.
• Information notices. The consultation document gives maintenance or safety documentation, and evidence of compliance with licence conditions, as examples of what a council could ask for.
• Inspections. The power of entry would let council officers survey a scheme on 24 hours' notice. A recent, dated record of your own for the same scheme lets you check their findings against it.
• The transition for existing providers. During the transition period, a council that is not satisfied on matters such as standards, category 1 hazards or management would issue an existing provider with a deficiency notice setting out the improvements needed, with up to three months to make them. The provider would then have to give the council evidence of the improvements made before the application is decided (regulation 37).

In practice that points to the same preparation as any stock condition programme: know which homes are supported housing and which may be exempt, survey them, record hazards with an HHSRS assessment where one is needed, keep dated photos and readings with each finding, and keep the record of what was fixed and when. None of that has to wait for the final regulations.

Where HousingSurvey Pro fits

• Condition surveys on site. A job can be raised with "stock-condition survey" as its reason for inspection, and the field app works offline with a GPS fix and fingerprinted photos sealed into the record.
• Hazard evidence. HHSRS scoring of any of the 21 hazard profiles on site, and 13 hazard survey types, from damp and mould to fire, electrical hazards and falls.
• A record per home. Finalised records are locked with a server timestamp and hash-chained per property, so a later finding sits next to the earlier ones.
• Ready to hand over. Each sealed record exports as a signed evidence bundle, and contractors can capture against your stock under scoped access.

HousingSurvey Pro records and evidences the condition of a home; it does not apply for licences, decide whether a scheme is exempt or whether it meets a standard, and it does not make a provider compliant. Those decisions stay with you and the licensing authority.

How and when to respond

The consultation runs for eight weeks, from 15 October 2026 to 11:59pm on 10 December 2026. It asks whether the draft delivers the policy in the government's response to the 2025 supported housing consultation (published 16 April 2026). It does not ask about guidance, which the government says it will publish in draft before the regulations are laid.

• Online: the consultation survey, which has 19 questions: three about you and 16 on the parts and schedules of the draft.
• By email: supportedhousingconsultations@communities.gov.uk, saying which questions you are answering.
• By post: Supported Housing Team, 2nd Floor, Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.

MHCLG asks respondents to say in what capacity they reply, where they are based and, for landlords and providers, how many supported housing units (beds) they own or manage. It invites responses from local housing authorities, providers and landlords, commissioners, residents and their representatives, and regulators. Responses will inform the regulations to be laid before Parliament, with an impact assessment published alongside them.

Related

• HHSRS software: scoring any of the 21 hazard profiles on site
• Awaab's Law software for housing associations and councils
• Awaab's Law Phase 2 hazards
• Evidence bundles

Frequently asked questions

This page is general information, not legal advice. It summarises draft regulations and a government consultation as read on 20 October 2026; the final regulations may differ. Always confirm the current requirements with your compliance team.