Independent Living Programme

Your journey to independence starts here. 

Centrepoint’s Independent Living programme provides high quality, affordable housing alongside our support provision, which means you can concentrate on what’s most important to you: your future.

What we offer 

  • Rent contribution capped at no more than one-third of your salary
  • E.g. if your salary is £1,350 per month, you will pay no more than £450 in property charge
  • Comfortable and well managed single person and shared accommodation options
  • Support from your Centrepoint Independent Living Advisor on budgeting, adjusting to living without support, and move on plans

To qualify you need to be: 

  • 18-25 years old 
  • Working full time (over 30 hours per week) or on an apprenticeship 
  • Experiencing a housing need:
    • currently homeless or
    • threatened with homelessness or
    • in non-secured accommodation, including supported housing
  • Able to live independently with minimal support 
  • Allowed to rent a property in England 
  • Have no arrears or significant debts 

Locations of our properties  

  • London and Manchester 
  • Close to public transport 
  • Walking distance to shops and community facilities (like doctors, schools, libraries)  

Self-contained homes 

You will have your own self-contained space with a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom that will typically have 

  • double bed and bedside table 
  • kitchenette with some white goods included, sink, fridge and a microwave or oven 
  • small chair or sofa
  • kitchen table (where relevant)
  • bathroom with toilet, shower and wash basin 

Not included 

  • Utilities e.g. gas, electricity, water and council tax 
  • Wi-Fi charges
  • Travel costs
  • Mobile phone charges
  • Food / clothing / additional furniture costs

Apprenticeship homes 

You will be living with up to 6 other people in a shared house with shared facilities. You will be sharing a bathroom, washer facilities and a kitchen, but you will have your own private bedroom with:

  • double bed and bedside table 
  • wardrobe and drawers 

Your property charge/contribution covers gas, electricity, water and council tax charges; it does not cover food, personal living charges or household items.

Young person facing to the right
Centrepoint have capped the rent at a third of my salary, and that's lovely, because that gives me an opportunity to have time to be able to save, to have time to be able to think about making a life instead of actually just living.

How to apply

If you think you might be eligible for Independent Living accommodation, complete this quick form to register your interest and our team will be in touch. If you are a Centrepoint resident you might want to have a chat with your keyworker before applying.   
The Independent Living programme is available to young people aged 18-25
Are you in full time work or an apprenticeship?
Do you have any support needs? e.g. rent arrears, health issues
Do you have a support worker or support from agencies?
How would you like to be contacted?

We will keep the data that you share with us for three years. Then we will delete it. You can read more about this in our privacy policy

Stages after you apply 

Review

We may talk through your application and ask you some questions.  

Feedback

If you’re successful we will invite you to an assessment. From that assessment, we'll decide whether to offer you a place, and you may go on a waiting list.

Make the move

We offer you an Independent Living Advisor who can coach you through your first few weeks.

Further information

We hope this page has given you a good understanding of Centrepoint’s Independent Living programme. If you haven't quite found what you're looking for, take a look at our frequently asked questions below.

The Independent Living programme is designed for young people who are

  • 18-25 years old 
  • Experiencing a housing need
    • currently homeless or
    • threatened with homelessness or
    • in non-secured accommodation, including supported housing
  • Working full time (over 30 hours per week) or on an apprenticeship 
  • Able to demonstrate you can live independently with minimal support 
  • Allowed to rent a property in England

We accept that this can happen to anybody.

If your employment status changes or becomes unstable then we will provide wrap around support. With our Housing team and our Jobs and Education team we will help you get back into employment as quickly as possible.

The Independent Living programme does not offer permanent accommodation.

Each tenancy agreement starts with an initial term of two years. 

Your team will start working together with you on your next steps. We will work on a plan to help you prepare for this, whether that is private sector rental or home ownership. We are there to support the transition into this exciting new life stage.

We suggest you find out if you are eligible for social housing (council housing) before applying to live in an Independent Living property.

If your Independent Living property is outside your local council area it is unlikely that you can remain on the housing register, as the Independent Living programme is not a council commissioned service. You can apply to join the register in the area you move to, however you may not be considered a priority.

If you are currently living in supported housing, talk this through with your keyworker or get in touch with us to explore your options.

Please contact your allocated Housing Officer if you want to report a repair, talk about your employment options, give us feedback or have any other questions.

Contact us through the Young Person's Portal

 If you have further questions or want to know more you can email us at independentliving@centrepoint.org and we'll be back in touch.