How to respond to the supported housing licensing consultation

To respond to the supported housing licensing consultation, answer the government's 19 questions on the draft Supported Housing (Licensing) (England) Regulations 2027 online, by email to supportedhousingconsultations@communities.gov.uk, or by post to the Supported Housing Team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, before 11:59pm on 10 December 2026. The consultation asks whether the draft regulations will deliver licensing as the government intends, so the most useful responses explain, from your own service, what would work in practice and what would not.

The consultation opened on 15 October 2026. It is the last formal chance for supported housing providers, managing agents, councils and residents to shape the licensing rules before they are laid before Parliament.

The consultation at a glance

What the consultation is, and is not, asking

The big policy decisions were made in the government's April 2026 response to the 2025 consultation: licensing by councils, the six National Supported Housing Standards, a fit and proper person test, and Housing Benefit linked to licensing. This consultation is about the technical detail: whether the draft regulations put those decisions into law clearly and workably.

So the strongest responses do not reargue whether licensing should happen. They point to specific parts of the draft, explain what would happen in your service, and suggest a fix.

How to respond, step by step

1. Read the consultation page and the draft regulations. The consultation page summarises each part of the draft. Read the parts that affect you most closely in the regulations themselves.
2. Decide who you are responding as. As an individual, a provider, a managing agent, a council or a representative body. The first three questions ask this, your region and, for landlords and providers, how many supported housing beds you own or manage.
3. Pick the questions that matter to you. You do not have to answer all 19.
4. Answer from experience. Use your own numbers: how many residents move in each month, how quickly needs assessments happen now, how many schemes you run, what a fee would mean for you.
5. Be specific. Name the part, regulation or schedule you are commenting on, say what the problem is, and suggest wording or an alternative.
6. Submit before 11:59pm on 10 December 2026, online, by email or by post. Keep a copy.

The 19 questions, in plain English

Points supported housing providers may want to raise

These are the parts of the draft that most affect day-to-day running. Whether you agree with them is your call; the consultation is the place to say.

• The four-week needs assessment (question 19). The draft licence conditions require every resident's needs to be assessed on moving in or within four weeks, by a suitably skilled assessor who meets the standards. Is four weeks workable for emergency or out-of-hours move-ins? Is it clear what makes an assessor suitably skilled?
• Fees set locally (question 8). Each council would set an application fee, an annual fee and a variation fee to cover its costs. Would fees vary widely between councils, and how would that affect providers working across several areas? The government has said fees will be recoverable through Housing Benefit.
• Five-year licences (question 11). Is five years the right length, and what should trigger a review in between?
• The nominated individual (questions 10 and 19). Organisations would name a director or partner who must always be in place. How would this work for charities and community interest companies, or during a change of trustees?
• Service manager approval (question 19). Appointing or changing a service manager would need the council's approval. How quickly would councils decide, and what happens to a scheme while they do?
• Exemptions (questions 7 and 17). Exempt services would still have to apply. Is the list right, and is the process quick enough?
• Managing agent schemes (question 6). The licence would be held by the person having control of, or managing, the supported housing. Is it clear who that is where a registered provider, a managing agent and a support provider share a scheme?
• Transition (question 16). Existing providers would get deficiency notices setting out improvements, rather than outright refusal. Is the three-month transition after councils set up their schemes long enough?
• Penalties (question 13). Civil penalties of up to £7,000 with an improvement notice and up to £40,000 for not complying with one. Are these proportionate to the size of providers in your area?
• Appeals (question 15). Are the routes for challenging a refusal, a condition or a revocation clear and fair?

Prepare your records while you respond

The draft licence conditions make the records most providers already keep into requirements. Whatever the final regulations say, you will need to show, for every resident, a needs assessment within four weeks of moving in, a support plan and risk assessment kept under review, and signed records of the support given. Our guide to what the draft licensing regulations mean for your records sets these out, and Residoc keeps them complete for every resident, with reviews booked automatically and outstanding documents shown to the provider.

For the full background to the Act, see the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023: where things stand.

Frequently asked questions

When does the supported housing licensing consultation close?

At 11:59pm on 10 December 2026. It opened on 15 October 2026 and runs for eight weeks.

How do I respond to the supported housing licensing consultation?

Online through the government's consultation hub, by email to supportedhousingconsultations@communities.gov.uk, or by post to the Supported Housing Team, 2nd Floor, Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF.

Who can respond to the consultation?

Anyone. Supported housing providers, managing agents, councils, support staff, residents and representative bodies can all respond, as an individual or on behalf of an organisation.

Do I have to answer all 19 questions?

No. Answer the questions that matter to your service. Specific answers to a few questions are more useful than general answers to all of them.

What are the draft regulations called?

The Supported Housing (Licensing) (England) Regulations 2027. They are made under the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.

What happens after the consultation?

The government will consider the responses, finalise the regulations and lay them before Parliament. Councils would then be designated, have six months to set up their schemes, and a three-month transition would follow before running supported housing without a licence becomes an offence.

Is the consultation about whether licensing should happen?

No. That was decided in the government's April 2026 response. This consultation asks whether the draft regulations put those decisions into law clearly and workably.

Can residents respond to the consultation?

Yes. Residents' experience of supported housing is directly relevant, particularly to the licence conditions on housing standards, needs assessments and support.

Sources

• MHCLG: Supported housing licensing regime: consultation on draft regulations (15 October 2026)
• MHCLG: Consultation detail and questions
• MHCLG and DWP: Supported housing regulation consultation: government response (April 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk: Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023