Supported Living Services

Supported living

Supported living refers to schemes that provide personal care to people as part of the support that they need to live in their own homes.

The personal care is provided under a separate contractual arrangement to those for the person’s housing.

The accommodation is often shared, usually as a small group, but can be single household.

Supported Living schemes for adults are defined by Havering Council and the two property types which fit this definition are as follows.

Property type 1

A cluster of single occupancy units which are grouped together either within a purpose-built block or within a defined area (such as a street) with an element of shared (core) support for all service users.

Havering Council's view is that ideally there would be no more than 14 flats/units clustered together and each single-occupancy unit should have its own bedroom, bathroom/wet room, kitchen and living/dining area.

Property type 2

Tenants live in a shared house or bungalow and have their own bedroom, ideally with an en-suite bathroom or wet room but share every other part of the property with other tenants.

Accommodation should, at a minimum, include a fully equipped kitchen and a communal living/dining area.

Group sizes in this type of tenancy would generally be small, normally no more than 4 tenants depending on the size of the property and communal areas. 

Within these schemes there is usually ‘shared’ and 'core' support.

All properties are tenancy based, with the landlord being separate from the support provider.

This allows the tenant to change support providers without risking their tenancy. 

Supported Living packages made by Havering from 1 April 2024 are at a set rate of £21 per hour for non-complex care needs and a set rate of £23 for complex care needs.

Additional 1 to 1 hours

1 to 1 care involves a nurse or carer providing support specifically to one individual which is generally task driven.

The type of care given is totally dependent on the person receiving it.

It could range from simple activities, such as helping to cook meals and tidy up, to more 'full-on' tasks, such as helping the individual with personal hygiene needs or supporting to access the community. 

Support could also be managing complex behaviours such as engaging with or reassuring the service user and supporting them emotionally.

This care is in addition to any core placement costs.

Additional 1:1 hours agreed by Havering from 1 April 2024 are at a set rate of £21 per hour.

Service specification