Here is something that comes up again and again in supported living: a problem that looks like a tenancy dispute or a funding row, but actually started with a question nobody answered clearly at the start. Who holds the property? Who holds the tenancy? Who holds the care contract?

For developers, landlords and care providers new to the sector, the structure is the product. The same building can sit under very different arrangements, each with its own regulator, funding route and risk. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

The four roles

Most schemes involve four players.

1. The landlord or developer. Owns the property, or holds a long interest in it. In many supported housing schemes this is a private investor or developer, not a registered provider (RP).

2. The registered provider. Usually a housing provider, known as a registered provider (RP). In the lease-based model the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) examined in its 2025 report, the freeholder leases the property to the registered provider, which becomes the leaseholder and the intermediate landlord to tenants. An alternative is a management agreement, where the owner keeps the property and a provider manages it under contract. The House of Commons Library notes that lease-based providers lease homes from private landlords, with day-to-day management often handled by managing agents.

3. The care and support provider. Delivers the support. It may be the same organisation as the landlord or a separate one. The Commons Library notes that support can come from managing agents or from the landlord housing provider.

4. The commissioner. Usually a local authority. The RSH report notes tenants are usually put forward by a local authority or care provider through a nomination arrangement. Where exempt accommodation is commissioned by a local authority, the authority is responsible for monitoring delivery and making sure it meets contractual requirements.

Three documents, kept apart

Take a young adult with a learning disability moving into a shared supported living house. Normally they hold their own tenancy or licence, and they receive personal care under a separate contract. Three different documents, with three different purposes.

CQC's housing with care guidance describes supported living as personal care delivered under "separate contractual arrangements" from housing. It says that to register as personal care, not as a care home, there needs to be "a real separation" between the care and accommodation agreements, which "must not be provided as a single package under one agreement".

CQC also suggests practical tests. Can the person stop receiving the care, or switch to another provider, without affecting their home? And a valid occupancy agreement does not settle it alone, because accommodation and care can still be provided as a single package.

A 2005 Court of Appeal decision mentioned in that guidance, the Moore case, confirmed that accommodation and care "do not have to be provided by the same company or individual" and that an occupancy agreement is not conclusive. CQC adds that its indicators are not conclusive on their own, so it is important to think about "the whole picture".

Why the separation matters

It decides which regulatory category a service falls into. CQC registers care homes under "accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care", and supported living under personal care (CQC, "Personal care").

Local Government Lawyer notes the risk where separation is not real: a service may be treated as a de facto care home, with the provider potentially committing an offence by not holding the right registration. The same commentary notes care home status would remove Housing Benefit eligibility for the accommodation. That commentary dates from 2010, so check the current position.

Housing Benefit and exempt accommodation

Exempt accommodation is a resettlement place, or accommodation provided by a county council, housing association, registered charity or voluntary organisation, where that body or someone acting for it provides care, support or supervision (House of Commons Library). The regime exists because managing shared, supported housing can cost more than usual.

Housing Benefit cannot fund support costs beyond housing-related management, so eligible rent and service charges need to be set and evidenced carefully. The Library also notes that local authorities find it hard in practice to challenge rents where other providers match local levels.

One point catches new entrants out. The RSH found cases where landlords in the lease-based model could not evidence that homes or tenancies met the exemption requirements. Treat exempt status as something to verify, not assume.

Lease length, breaks and void risk

The RSH report found:

  • leases typically run for at least 10 years, and often longer
  • rent is linked to CPI or RPI, often on a fully repairing and insuring basis, with the registered provider responsible for repairs and insurance
  • void risk is disproportionately left with the registered provider: when a home is empty, no rent comes in, but lease payments are still due
  • some leases had no break clauses, or break options in the freeholder's favour only

The regulator concluded there was an imbalance of risk and reward between the social landlord that leases the property and the freeholder that owns it (RSH, as reported by Local Government Lawyer). One practitioner source describes 5 to 10 year leases, often with break clauses, as now common, though that is commentary, not regulatory data.

Where the information gets lost

Each arrangement produces paperwork: a lease or management agreement, tenancy or licence agreements, a care contract, a commissioning agreement and evidence of exempt status. They sit with different parties, rarely in one place. A developer cannot easily see whether the provider behind a lease is registered and stable. A commissioner cannot easily see which property sits under which structure.

OTHRS is being built to give developers, registered providers, care providers and commissioners one shared place to see who holds what, with provider standing and property details verified once rather than rebuilt for every conversation.

Before you commit

Get independent legal advice on the specific lease, tenancy and care contract structure before you sign, and confirm registration and funding status with the relevant bodies.

Frequently asked questions

Does a separate care contract mean a scheme is not a care home?

Not automatically. CQC guidance says valid occupancy agreements do not settle the question, because accommodation and care can still be provided as a single package. CQC looks at the whole picture of the service.

Who normally carries void risk in a lease-based supported housing scheme?

In the model the RSH examined, responsibility is disproportionately left with the registered provider: when a home is empty, no rent is received but lease payments are still due.

Can a private landlord receive exempt accommodation Housing Benefit directly?

Exempt accommodation is defined by reference to provision by a county council, housing association, registered charity or voluntary organisation, which is why private owners commonly work through a provider. Check your own position with a solicitor.

Are lease lengths fixed by regulation?

No source we reviewed sets a required length. The RSH found leases of at least 10 years, and often longer, to be typical in the lease-based model, but terms are negotiated between the parties. This is general information, not legal advice.

Want one verified view of who holds what? See how OTHRS is being built to give developers, registered providers and commissioners exactly that.

Sources

Regulator of Social Housing, "Lease-based providers of specialised supported housing" (April 2025)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67f641cab7e44efc70acc3ba/Lease-based_providers_of_SSH_FINAL_10042025.pdf

House of Commons Library, "Supported exempt accommodation (England)"
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9362/

Care Quality Commission, "Housing with care: guidance on regulated activities for providers of supported living and extra care housing"
https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20151023_provider_guidance-housing_with_care.pdf

Care Quality Commission, "Personal care"
https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/registration/personal-care

Local Government Lawyer, "The future of supported living"
https://localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/index.php?id=3947%25&option=com_content&view=article

Local Government Lawyer, "Regulator warns of 'fundamental issues' with some lease-based provision of specialised supported housing"
https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/housing-law/397-housing-news/60568-regulator-warns-of-fundamental-issues-with-some-lease-based-provision-of-specialised-supported-housing

Supported Living Gateway, "Understanding the lease-based model in supported living: Why ASTs won't work"
https://www.supportedlivinggateway.com/news/understanding-the-lease-based-model-in-supported-living/