Supported Accommodation

Supported Accommodation services provide housing with support, typically for individuals who require a stable living environment alongside practical or low-level support.

Supported accommodation is commonly used to support:

• People experiencing homelessness
• Individuals leaving hospital, care, or custody
• Young people and care leavers
• Adults with vulnerabilities who do not require regulated care
  

Unlike supported living, Supported Accommodation is housing-led, and the provider’s primary role relates to accommodation, tenancy management, and support rather than regulated care delivery.

Local authorities commission supported accommodation through a range of routes, including housing, homelessness, and children’s services procurement.

Supported accommodation contracts are commonly delivered by:

• Supported accommodation providers
• Organisations managing accommodation with on-site or visiting support
• Women’s refuges and Domestic Abuse services
• Providers supporting young people leaving care
• Housing-based support services
• Charities and CICs delivering accommodation-linked support
• Organisations working with people at risk of homelessness
• Providers supporting vulnerable adults in shared or single-occupancy accommodation
  

(Supported accommodation focuses on housing-based support, often alongside landlords or housing partners.)

Supported accommodation providers are typically responsible for the property or tenancy arrangement, either directly or through lease or management agreements.

Local authorities typically commission supported accommodation through:

• Housing or homelessness frameworks
• DPSs or approved provider lists
• Call-off contracts for specific cohorts or schemes
  

Opportunities may relate to:

• Building-based services
• Dispersed accommodation models
• Emergency, short-term, or move-on provision

Commissioning requirements vary significantly by authority and service type.

Local authorities typically commission supported living care by:

• Establishing a DPS or framework for regulated care services
• Approving eligible providers to join
• Issuing call-off opportunities for specific individuals or service models
  

Call-off opportunities may cover:

• Individual support packages
• Shared living arrangements
  

Flexible or 24-hour care models

Supported accommodation providers are expected to demonstrate that they have the housing, operational, and management capacity to deliver safe and compliant services.

This typically includes evidence of:

• Property ownership, lease, or management arrangements
• Tenancy management and housing management processes
• Health and safety compliance
• Staffing capacity appropriate to the level of support offered
• Safeguarding and escalation arrangements
• Clear boundaries between housing and care, where applicable
  

BidElevate assesses readiness and role clarity alongside eligibility, ensuring that providers are not positioned into unsuitable or non-compliant opportunities.

BidElevate does not submit applications where provider roles or delivery responsibilities cannot be clearly demonstrated.