29 August 2025

This blog was originally published to coincide with Starts at Home Day. Hestia supports the Save Our Supported Housing Campaign, led by the National Housing Federation. 

Everyone deserves a safe place to come home to. A home is more than just four walls, it’s the foundation for wellbeing, belonging, and peace of mind.

"Supported housing is often a lifeline. It helps people rebuild their lives, connect with their communities, and look ahead with hope."

For people going through crisis or recovering from trauma, that security is vital. At Hestia, we provide homes (known as supported housing) alongside emotional and practical support tailored to each person. The people who live in our services include adults with mental health challenges, women and children escaping domestic abuse, young people leaving care, and adults leaving hospital.

Supported housing is often a lifeline. It helps people rebuild their lives, connect with their communities, and look ahead with hope.

Could new rules shut the door on the people they’re meant to protect?

The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 will introduce a new licensing system for supported housing across England, alongside national standards for the support provided.

At Hestia, we welcome stronger regulation, and share the Government’s goals of improving quality standards, accountability, and the experience of residents.

But we do have concerns. The proposed approach risks duplication and heavy administrative demands. Charities like Hestia already meet rigorous requirements from commissioners. We currently provide 840 supported living units across around 125 properties, working with 34 different landlords. If each required a separate licence, the administrative burden would be huge.

This could not only divert time and resources away from direct support but, in the worst cases, it could force high quality, trauma-informed services or dispersed homes, to close – just when safe homes are needed most.

A more proportionate and effective approach would combine licensing at organisation level and a robust passporting scheme. This would save time and money for both regulators and providers and ensure that authorities can concentrate their limited resources on quality improvement.

And while setting standards is important, they must be underpinned by proper investment. Without funding for the support itself, which isn’t covered by Housing Benefit, the regulations risk becoming well-meaning but ineffective.

Housing benefit

The government has also consulted on changes to Housing Benefit Regulations.

Housing Benefit is crucial in keeping supported housing affordable for residents. People can claim more than they would for general housing – reflecting the higher delivery costs - because supported housing is exempt from the usual caps that apply.

The Government has previously announced, then delayed, plans to reintroduce a cap, linking Housing Benefit to Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates. This remains a serious concern.

Supported housing costs more to run than standard housing. It requires specialist staff, 24/7 support, and has higher management costs. If capped at LHA levels, funding simply wouldn’t stretch far enough to meet need, forcing some providers to close. That could mean a woman fleeing domestic abuse has nowhere safe to go, or a person leaving hospital is discharged onto the streets.

That’s why we’re calling for the exemption from the LHA cap to stay in place. We’re also urging the Government to link new licensing proposals with Housing Benefit systems, so providers aren’t hit with duplicate processes and added bureaucracy.

A home for all

Maya Angelou wrote:

“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”

It’s no coincidence that Hestia is named after the Greek goddess of the hearth and home. We understand how powerful it is to have a secure base when you’re on the journey from crisis to recovery.

Improving supported housing is a goal we fully support. But reforms will only succeed if they are properly funded, phased, and supported – without losing the flexibility and responsiveness that make this type of housing so effective.

We urge the Government to listen to providers, protect Housing Benefit exemptions, and design a proportionate licensing system with passporting for commissioned services already quality monitored by the NHS or Local Authorities. Only then can we make sure supported housing continues to be a lifeline for those who need it most.

Because at the heart of it all is something simple: everyone deserves a safe place to call home.

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