Housing Support
- Care Setting Overview
- Commissioning and Procurement Structure
- Regulatory and Statutory Requirements
- Service User Profile and Eligibility
- Service Specification Expectations
- Our Approach to Tender Writing for This Setting
- Core Method Statements for This Setting
- Workforce Model and Capacity
- Quality Assurance and Governance
- Mobilisation and Implementation
- Outcomes and Performance Framework
- Technology and Systems
- Partnership and System Integration
- Commercial and Pricing Considerations
- Common Bid Risks and Failure Points
- Evidence and Case Studies
- Geographic Delivery Considerations
- FAQs for This Care Setting
Live Tenders
Care Setting Overview
Housing support encompasses floating support and housing-related support services delivered to individuals in their own homes or in temporary accommodation. The service is focused on enabling people to secure, maintain, and sustain tenancies, prevent homelessness, and address the support needs that affect their ability to live independently. Housing support does not typically include personal care, though some contracts combine housing support with care delivery.
Commissioning and Procurement Structure
Housing support is commissioned by local authorities, typically through housing or homelessness directorates. Procurement includes framework agreements, block contracts, and outcome-based commissioning models. Funding streams include Supporting People legacy budgets, homelessness prevention grants, and adult social care budgets where the service intersects with care needs.
Regulatory and Statutory Requirements
Where personal care is not provided, housing support is not CQC regulated. Services must comply with the Housing Act 1996, Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, Care Act 2014, and local authority quality frameworks. Where personal care is included, CQC registration applies.
Service User Profile and Eligibility
Housing support serves people at risk of homelessness, people in temporary or supported accommodation, people with mental health needs affecting their tenancy, people fleeing domestic abuse, people leaving prison, and people with substance misuse issues. Referrals come from local authority housing teams, social work teams, probation, mental health services, and self-referral.
Service Specification Expectations
Specifications prioritise homelessness prevention outcomes, tenancy sustainment, early intervention, crisis management, and progression toward independent living. Commissioners expect providers to demonstrate how caseloads are managed, how contact frequency is determined, and how outcomes are evidenced.
Our Approach to Tender Writing for This Setting
We build housing support responses around the prevention and sustainment framework, demonstrating how the service intervenes early, sustains tenancies, and reduces repeat homelessness. Responses detail assessment processes, support planning, risk management, and how outcomes are tracked and reported.
Core Method Statements for This Setting
Homelessness Prevention
Covers how the service identifies and responds to homelessness risk, including liaison with landlords, benefit maximisation, debt management support, and mediation.
Tenancy Sustainment
Addresses how individuals are supported to maintain their tenancy through budgeting, household management, neighbour relations, and compliance with tenancy conditions.
Crisis Intervention
Details how the service responds to crisis situations including eviction risk, domestic abuse, mental health crisis, and substance misuse relapse.
Move-On and Resettlement
Covers how individuals in temporary accommodation are supported to secure permanent housing and sustain it independently.
Workforce Model and Capacity
Staffing includes floating support workers, senior support workers, and team managers. Caseload sizes vary depending on intensity of support required. Training requirements include housing legislation, benefit and welfare rights, safeguarding, mental health awareness, substance misuse awareness, and domestic abuse.
Quality Assurance and Governance
Quality is monitored through caseload audits, outcome tracking, service user feedback, and performance against contractual KPIs. Commissioners expect regular reporting on homelessness prevention outcomes and tenancy sustainment rates.
Mobilisation and Implementation
Mobilisation involves staff recruitment and training, establishment of referral pathways, setup of case management systems, and community mapping of local resources.
Outcomes and Performance Framework
KPIs include homelessness prevention rates, tenancy sustainment at 6 and 12 months, successful move-on from temporary accommodation, engagement in education, training, or employment, and reduction in repeat homelessness.
Technology and Systems
Systems include case management platforms, outcome recording tools, and mobile working solutions for staff operating across dispersed locations.
Partnership and System Integration
Key partners include local authority housing teams, registered social landlords, private landlords, job centres, benefit agencies, mental health services, substance misuse services, and voluntary sector organisations.
Commercial and Pricing Considerations
Pricing is typically based on per-person or per-unit costs, with some contracts using payment-by-results models. Commissioners assess cost against outcomes rather than hours of delivery.
Common Bid Risks and Failure Points
Common failures include weak outcome evidence, generic support descriptions, insufficient detail on housing-specific expertise, and failure to demonstrate early intervention capability.
Evidence and Case Studies
Evidence should include tenancy sustainment data, homelessness prevention outcomes, case studies showing successful intervention, and commissioner feedback from similar contracts.
Geographic Delivery Considerations
Housing support is delivered across local authority areas, often requiring staff to travel to dispersed properties. Urban areas present high caseload density; rural areas present access and travel challenges.
FAQs for This Care Setting
Does housing support require CQC registration?
Only where personal care is included in the service. Many housing support contracts focus on tenancy sustainment and do not include personal care, meaning CQC registration is not required.