Supported accommodation can be life-changing for young people experiencing homelessness. It can offer safety, stability and the right support to begin rebuilding their lives.
But it is not meant to be a permanent home.
Across the country, too many young people are ready to move on from supported housing but cannot take the next step because there is nowhere affordable for them to go. This creates blockages across the homelessness system, leaving some young people needlessly stuck and others trapped in unsafe or unstable situations.
The root cause is the lack of affordable homes
Social housing is in short supply. There are too few homes available, and many are unsuitable for single-person households.
That should mean private renting is the most obvious move-on option for young people ready to leave supported housing and start an independent tenancy. But rising rents, frozen Local Housing Allowance rates and the Shared Accommodation Rate are making that option increasingly unrealistic for many young people.
Under current welfare rules, most single people under 35 are only entitled to housing support based on the cost of a room in shared accommodation, rather than a self-contained home. This is known as the Shared Accommodation Rate. While some exemptions exist, many young people remain restricted to this lower level of support.
At the same time, shared housing itself is becoming harder to find. Much of this accommodation is classed as Houses in Multiple Occupation, or HMOs, and the available stock has fallen in recent years. According to Centrepoint research, between 2019/20 and 2024/25, available HMO stock reduced by 10%.
As a result, young people are trapped between unaffordable one-bedroom rents and a shrinking shared housing market.
Centrepoint’s research with young renters shows the pressure this is creating. Around two in five young people reported difficulty meeting their rent, while more than half had fallen behind on payments at some point during the year. Over a third said they had been at risk of homelessness.
A system that should provide a foundation for young people is instead setting too many of them up to fail
Young people who are ready for independence remain in supported accommodation, meaning others who need that support cannot access it. This puts crisis services under increasing pressure and means public money continues to be spent on higher-cost accommodation, not because it is always needed, but because settled housing is out of reach.
It doesn’t have to be like this.
While building more affordable and social homes is essential in the long term, there are practical steps ministers could take now.
The Government should abolish the Shared Accommodation Rate and reset Local Housing Allowance so it covers the cheapest 30% of local rents, with rates reviewed annually.
This would not be cost neutral, but it would have a direct impact on temporary accommodation costs, which are already pushing councils to the brink. It would also give young people the stability they need to move on with their lives, sustain work where they can, and avoid repeated homelessness.
If ministers are not prepared to go that far, they should at least review the benefit rules and planning regulations that are pushing young people into a shared housing market that is shrinking around them.
Young people are doing the hard work to rebuild their lives. The housing system should not be the thing that stops them moving forward.
