Supported accommodation

If you live in supported accommodation, your Housing Benefit payments won’t be classed as income when the Department for Work and Pensions calculate your Universal Credit award. This applies if you're living in one of the following types of accommodation, known as specified accommodation:

  • A resettlement place
  • Accommodation where the provider or someone acting on their behalf provides you with care, support or supervision
  • Accommodation you were admitted to in order to meet your need for care, support or supervision
  • Temporary accommodation for people who’ve left home because of domestic violence
  • A hostel

Resettlement places

A resettlement place is a place in temporary accommodation if you haven’t got a settled way of life. It must have originally been funded through the resettlement grant from the government, although this grant is no longer available.

Accommodation with care, support or supervision from the provider

This applies to accommodation provided by one of following organisations:

  • A non-metropolitan county council
  • A housing association
  • A registered charity
  • A voluntary organisation

The accommodation provider or someone acting on their behalf must also provide you with care, support or supervision.

Examples of these types of accommodation include sheltered housing, adapted housing for disabled people or a supported living complex for people with mental or learning disabilities, but not care homes.

Accommodation you were admitted to in order to meet your need for care, support or supervision

You must have been admitted to the accommodation to get the care, support or supervision. It does not matter whether the accommodation provider, someone acting on their behalf, or someone else altogether provides the care, support or supervision.

One of the following organisations must provide your accommodation:

  • A county council in a county where there is a district council for each part of the county
  • A housing association
  • A registered charity
  • A voluntary organisation.

Temporary accommodation for people who’ve left home due to domestic violence

This is accommodation that meets the following conditions:

  • A local authority, housing association, registered charity, or voluntary organisation has provided you with it
  • They provided you with it because you left home as a result of domestic violence
  • It’s in a building which is used or mainly used as temporary accommodation for people who’ve left home because of domestic violence

For example, this includes refuges.

Hostels

A hostel is accommodation that a local authority owns and manages. It must not be separate and self-contained, and food must be provided or there must be facilities so you can prepare your own food. You must also be getting care, support or supervision in the hostel.

If you're in a hostel that doesn't meet all these conditions, it may count as one of the other types of specified accommodation.