Supported exempt accommodation quality standards: what you are asked to show

Updated 25 Sept 2026 · Sources

“Quality standards” for supported exempt accommodation now means three different things, judged by different people. Knowing which one you are being asked about saves a lot of wasted paperwork.

Three rule sets, never merged

The licence conditions. Five conditions and a fit-and-proper test, checked against the licence holder, pass or fail on each. See supported housing licensing in 2027.
The National Supported Housing Standards. 36 criteria in six standards, checked against the support provider under licence condition 3. See the National Standards explained.
Local quality schemes. Birmingham’s S.E.A.Q.A.S., run by BVSC with the council, scores providers for an award and a place on the preferred provider list. See S.E.A.Q.A.S. explained. Other pilot and standards authorities include Blackburn, Blackpool, Bristol, Hull, Coventry, Kirklees and Adur & Worthing.

A good S.E.A.Q.A.S. score is not a licence, and a licence is not an award. Stedwise scores each separately and never blends them into one number.

What the national standards ask for

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

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

The standards expect documents most small providers do not have: individual needs assessments, support plans, a pre-eviction protocol, an anti-social behaviour policy, a training matrix covering four named topics, a referral management process and a statement of purpose.

Records and practice matter more than policies

Policies are easy to copy. 61% of what S.E.A.Q.A.S. checks is records and practice, and residents are interviewed during assessment. A provider that fails on resident experience needs better practice, not better paperwork.

The traps

Referral management sits in the Environment Standard, criterion 2, not a standard of its own. Out-of-area rationale attaches there.
The Local Need Standard does not include a local connection test for residents.
Local Need binds new schemes only once local strategies are published.
The statement of purpose must not include the location, and may be displayed 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 address poor performance.
Repairs means a process to report routine and emergency repairs, not to respond to requests.
“Consistency of support” replaced “the same support worker”.
A pre-eviction protocol is a named criterion.
Safeguarding measures are a criterion separate from safeguarding training.

Things that stop you whatever the score

a live Regulator of Social Housing judgement, which blocks a S.E.A.Q.A.S. award outright
an expired gas safety certificate, electrical installation condition report or fire risk assessment
any core policy not adopted: safeguarding, complaints, anti-social behaviour, pre-eviction, referral management or statement of purpose

Sources

This guide is not legal advice

It summarises published government and council material as at the date above. The licensing regulations are not yet made; check the sources before you rely on a detail.