On Thursday 16th April 2026 the Government published its response to the consultation on the Supported Accommodation (Regulatory Oversight) Act that took place last year.

We're really pleased to see that through our collective voice we’ve achieved a number of positive changes to the original proposals, and there’s a thank you to both MHCLG and DWP for listening to so many of our concerns and responding accordingly. This all demonstrates the effectiveness and strength of our shared voice.

If you need a reminder of the original proposals and our concerns, this summary of the original proposals, summary of Homeless Link’s consultation response and full response are available.

Overview

The Government’s response confirms that from some time in 2027, they will introduce a locally led licensing regime for all supported housing that meets the definition of ‘supported exempt accommodation’ in England.

Licence holders will have to meet a set of conditions, including complying with slightly amended National Supported Housing Standards.

An expanded list of types of service will be exempt from needing a licence, as they are subject to other oversight or regulation.

The Government will link the ability to receive Enhanced Housing Benefit to being licensed, but have paused their proposals to introduce specific definitions or a minimum threshold for the amount of care, support and supervision provided in Housing Benefit legislation.

As confirmed in February, local authorities will need to have published Local Supported Housing Strategies by 31st March 2027.

Key changes

We’ve pulled out the key concerns raised by Homeless Link members that we shared through our response, and what, if anything, has changed as a result.

Generally, the changes made in the response appear to be more workable for providers, and seem to reflect a better balance between enforcement against rogue providers, protecting residents, and supporting good supported housing providers to continue their work.

Issues remaining

The response unfortunately makes no mention of funding providers to support them with the costs of compliance, or to make capital or service improvements after years of underfunding. We will continue to push for this in the next phase of our influencing. The response also failed to address the issue of Housing Benefit subsidy loss.

The Government’s response about mitigating the risks to residents who live in a scheme that fails to gain a licence and need to be rehoused is limited and appears to rely on existing local authorities’ resources and processes, including Discretionary Housing Payments. In light of local housing supply issues and rising homelessness, we’d like to see this strengthened.

There will be a further consultation on regulations to be laid later this year, and we’ll continue pushing for further improvements in our response and in ongoing conversations with MHCLG and DWP.

If you have any thoughts to share on the Government’s response, please contact Alex using the details below.

For more information see our regulations web page.