The National Supported Housing Standards: 36 requirements in six standards

Q: Are the Standards law yet?

The requirements are Government has decided: the government confirmed them in its response of 16 April 2026 and says licensing will use them. They are not law yet. The draft licensing regulations, published for consultation on 15 October 2026, refer to “national standards” published under the 2023 Act, but do not repeat the Standards themselves. The consultation is open until 10 December 2026 (consultation page). See the draft licensing regulations in plain English.

Updated 29 Oct 2026 · Sources

The short answer

The National Supported Housing Standards are the government’s standards for the support in supported housing: 36 requirements in six standards, published on 16 April 2026. Twenty can be met with documents and records; sixteen need changes in how you work. The draft licensing regulations make meeting them part of licence condition 3, unless the support is commissioned.

The National Supported Housing Standards are the government’s standards for the support in supported housing. They were published word for word in the government response of 16 April 2026 (opens in a new tab). There are 36 requirements (the government calls them criteria) in six standards.

They are part of licence condition 3, care, support and supervision. Every service must meet them unless it is exempt. Commissioned support (support paid for by a council or other public body) is exempt, and the licence holder reports any concerns about it.

The draft licensing regulations (opens in a new tab) of 15 October 2026 make this a licence condition: the licence holder must make sure the housing meets the national standards (Schedule 3). In the draft, that duty does not apply to supported housing commissioned by the council that licenses it. Each resident’s needs assessment must also follow the standards. This is ProposedAn idea in a consultation or a draft. We show it, but it never changes your score.: a draft, not law yet.

The Standards were rewritten so that the support provider can meet them in full. The housing parts belong to the licence holder, through the other four licence conditions.

What are the six standards?

You can meet twenty of the 36 requirements with documents and records alone. The other sixteen need a change in how you work (practice). That takes longer, and it is harder to fake.

Person-centred support6 documents and records · 6 practice change12 requirements
Staff and safeguarding4 documents and records · 3 practice change7 requirements
Environment2 documents and records · 3 practice change5 requirements
Statement of purpose5 documents and records · 0 practice change5 requirements
Local need1 documents and records · 3 practice change4 requirements
Empowerment2 documents and records · 1 practice change3 requirements
Total20 documents and records · 16 practice change36 requirements

The six National Supported Housing Standards and their requirements
Standard	Requirements	Documents and records	Practice change
Person-centred support	Requirements 12	Documents and records 6	Practice change 6
Staff and safeguarding	Requirements 7	Documents and records 4	Practice change 3
Environment	Requirements 5	Documents and records 2	Practice change 3
Statement of purpose	Requirements 5	Documents and records 5	Practice change 0
Local need	Requirements 4	Documents and records 1	Practice change 3
Empowerment	Requirements 3	Documents and records 2	Practice change 1
Total	Requirements 36	Documents and records 20	Practice change 16

The government also asked for views on a Responsible Person Standard, then dropped it. This is because the licence already needs a named service manager for each address.

Which documents are most small providers missing?

The Standards expect documents that many small providers do not have yet:

an individual needs assessment for each resident
a support plan for each resident
a pre-eviction protocol
an anti-social behaviour policy
a training matrix covering four named topics
a referral management process
a statement of purpose

What are the ten traps most providers miss?

Managing referrals is part of the Environment Standard (requirement 2). It is not a standard of its own. Your reasons for taking people from outside the area belong there too.
The Local Need Standard does not include a local connection test for residents.
Local Need applies to new schemes only, and only once local strategies are published.
The statement of purpose must not include the location. You may display it in the scheme instead of online.
Staff training must cover four named topics: safeguarding, anti-social behaviour, domestic abuse awareness, incident management.
Performance management must reward achievement, not only deal with poor performance.
Repairs means a process to report routine and emergency repairs. It does not mean a process to respond to requests.
“Consistency of support” replaced “the same support worker”.
A pre-eviction protocol is a requirement of its own. This is the written process you follow before you evict someone.
Safeguarding measures are a separate requirement from safeguarding training.

What evidence does the government accept?

The government names these kinds of evidence:

videos inside the accommodation, with the date and time shown
support reviews
residents’ training certificates and qualifications
a cleaning policy and a risk assessment policy
planned staff training
a safeguarding policy, safeguarding incident logs and the actions taken, and safeguarding referrals to councils
a way of managing staff performance (a performance management framework) and staff appraisals
the staff rota, and staffing levels for each scheme

When does Local Need apply?

The Local Need Standard applies to new schemes only, and only once councils publish their local supported housing strategies (local plans). The first strategies are planned for 31 March 2027. The regulations that set that deadline are not made yet (Local Supported Housing Strategies (opens in a new tab)). The standard does not include a local connection test for residents.

Are the Standards law yet?

The requirements are Government has decidedThe government says it "will" do this. It counts in the "When licensing starts" view.: the government confirmed them in its response of 16 April 2026 and says licensing will use them. They are not law yet. The draft licensing regulations, published for consultation on 15 October 2026, refer to “national standards” published under the 2023 Act, but do not repeat the Standards themselves. The consultation is open until 10 December 2026 (consultation page (opens in a new tab)). See the draft licensing regulations in plain English.

Sources

This guide is not legal advice

It sums up what the government and councils had published on the date above. The licensing regulations (the detailed law) are not made yet. On 15 October 2026 the government published them as a draft, to ask for views. The final text may change. Check the sources before you rely on a detail.