Own a Property? Children’s Home, Supported Accommodation or Supported Living: Which Fits

A spare house looks like the start of a care business. Which business it can become depends less on the house than on who will run it.

If you own a house but have no care experience and no manager, the realistic first steps are leasing it to an established provider, supported living, or supported housing for 18 to 25 year olds. A children’s home or care home usually needs C2 planning permission, a manager with years of relevant experience, and a long registration process.

Owners often come to us with the property already bought, or inherited, and a plan to open a children’s home because they have heard councils pay well. Sometimes that plan works. More often the house, the planning position and the people available point to a different service, and it is far cheaper to find that out before spending money on furniture, staff and fees.

This guide compares seven ways to use a house in England, including two unregulated options and the one most owners overlook: letting the building to someone else. Facts and fees were checked on 7 November 2026.

Three questions decide which option is open to you

1. Who will manage it? Every regulated service needs a manager the regulator accepts. For a children’s home, regulation 28 of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 asks for two years’ experience in residential childcare and one year supervising staff, plus the Level 5 diploma or a commitment to complete it. For supported accommodation, regulation 12 of the 2023 Regulations asks for two years’ relevant experience within the last five. CQC sets no fixed number of years, but it assesses whether the manager is fit and competent to run the service.
2. What will planning allow? A family house is normally use class C3. Class C3(b) covers up to six people living together as a single household and receiving care, which is why supported living often fits an ordinary house. Children’s homes are usually treated as C2 where staff work shifts rather than living in, though councils decide case by case. Care homes are C2. Hostels and night shelters are sui generis, a use of their own.
3. Who will pay? Councils buy children’s home and supported accommodation places. Adult social care pays for care in supported living. Housing benefit pays rent, but the higher exempt accommodation rents are only for councils, housing associations, registered charities and voluntary organisations that provide care, support or supervision. A private company does not qualify on its own.

The seven options at a glance

Option	Regulator	Manager you need	Planning, for a family house	Fees to the regulator	Fit for a new owner with no manager
Children’s home	Ofsted	Registered Manager meeting regulation 28	Usually C2, so permission or a lawful development certificate	£2,006 to apply (up to 3 places); £5,390 a year	Low
Supported accommodation, 16 and 17	Ofsted	Registered Service Manager meeting regulation 12	Often fine as a house; HMO rules if shared	£4,320 plus £910 for the manager; £3,888 a year	Low to medium
Supported living	CQC, for the personal care	Registered Manager if you give the care; none as landlord only	Usually fine under C3(b), up to six people	No fee to apply; about £239 plus £54 per person a year	Medium, high as landlord only
Residential care home	CQC	Registered Manager	C2 permission plus building work	No fee to apply; £313 a year under 4 places	Low
Supported housing, 18 to 25	None today; licensing coming	None in law; you still need a capable lead	Fine as a house; HMO licence for 5 or more people from 2 or more households	None to a regulator	Medium to high, with funding agreed
Shelters and emergency housing	None, unless personal care	None in law	Hostels need permission (sui generis)	None to a regulator	Medium, as a landlord to a council or charity
Lease to a provider or council	None for you	None for you	Your tenant needs the right use	None for you	High

Children’s home: the highest bar and the longest wait

A children’s home cares for children under 18, with staff on shift around the clock. Most new homes take one to four children. It is the option owners ask about most, and the hardest one to start from scratch.

The fees are the easy part. From 1 April 2026 Ofsted charges £2,006 to register a home with up to three places, or £3,284 plus £910 for the manager with four or more. The annual fee starts at £5,390. The harder parts are the manager, the planning position and the wait.

On the wait, Ofsted’s guidance on prioritising applications was updated on 2 July 2026. Ofsted now prioritises homes funded by the Department for Education’s capital programme, homes opening only for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children under the national transfer scheme, homes where a child under a court deprivation of liberty order is already living, and homes needed in an emergency. Applications that do not meet the criteria stay on Ofsted’s waiting list. For a new owner that means paying rent, and often a manager’s salary, for months with no child in the home.

Do not be tempted to start before registration. Caring for children in an unregistered children’s home is an offence under the Care Standards Act 2000, and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 gave Ofsted the power to fine unregistered homes from 15 July 2026.

Who it suits: an owner with an experienced Registered Manager already committed, planning settled, and money to run the home for a year or more before income starts.

Supported accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds

Supported accommodation gives looked-after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17 a home with support, not care. Providers have had to register with Ofsted since 28 April 2023 under the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. There are four categories, from a self-contained flat for one young person to a room with a host family.

It suits an ordinary house better than a children’s home does, and staffing follows the young people’s needs rather than a fixed round-the-clock rota. The catch is cost and time. The registration fee is £4,320 for a provider with up to nine premises, plus £910 for the Registered Service Manager, and the annual fee is £3,888. There is no statutory timescale for a decision.

One rule surprises people. Since 9 September 2021 councils have not been allowed to place children under 16 in this kind of accommodation (SI 2021/161). If a council asks you to take a 15 year old, the answer is a registered children’s home or foster care, not supported accommodation.

Who it suits: an owner who can recruit an experienced Registered Service Manager and has checked with the council’s placements team that they want what is planned.

Supported living: where an ordinary house often fits

In supported living, adults with a learning disability, autism, mental health needs or a physical disability hold their own tenancies and receive personal care in their home. CQC registers the personal care under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, not the house. Housing and care are meant to be separate, so a tenant can change their care provider without losing their home.

That separation gives a property owner two choices. You can be the landlord only, letting the house to tenants through a housing association or alongside an existing registered care provider, which needs no CQC registration from you. Or you can register your own care service, which needs a Registered Manager, a Nominated Individual and the full set of policies and plans.

The money is kinder than the Ofsted routes. CQC does not charge a fee to apply; once registered you pay an annual fee, which for community social care is £239 plus about £54 for each person you support at that location. Planning is usually straightforward under class C3(b).

The risk is being landlord and care provider with no real separation, so tenants cannot change one without losing the other. For services supporting autistic people and people with a learning disability, CQC’s statutory guidance Right support, right care, right culture sets the standard it registers against.

Who it suits: most owners at this stage, starting as landlord with a partner and adding their own care service once they have a manager.

Residential care home: rarely right for an unconverted house

A care home provides accommodation and personal or nursing care together. CQC’s annual fee is modest, £313 for a home with fewer than four places and £816 for four to ten, and there is no application fee.

The house needs planning permission for C2, then building work for fire safety, accessible bathrooms and equipment, and the home needs staff day and night from the first resident. A small home carries most of the fixed costs of a large one, spread over fewer beds. Unless the building is suited to conversion and you have specialist advice on viability, this is not where to start.

Unregulated options: supported housing for 18 to 25 year olds, and shelters

Ofsted does not register services for people aged 18 and over, and CQC is only involved if personal care is given. Supported housing for care leavers and other young adults can therefore open without a regulator’s approval, which is why it appeals to new owners.

Unregulated does not mean unchecked, and it will not stay this way. The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 allows councils to license supported housing. The government’s consultation on the draft licensing regulations opened on 15 October 2026 and closes on 10 December 2026. Under the draft, every council would become a licensing district with six months to set up its scheme, and services that are not registered care providers would have to meet the National Supported Housing Standards. None of this is in force yet, so the sensible move is to run to those standards from day one.

The practical rules apply now. A house shared by five or more people from two or more households needs a mandatory HMO licence, and fire, gas and electrical safety duties apply. Funding is the real test: without a council contract or a housing association or charity partner, rent alone rarely covers the cost of support.

Shelters are different again. A hostel or night shelter is a sui generis planning use and usually needs permission. Refuges for people fleeing domestic abuse are commissioned by councils under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, almost always from specialist charities. For an owner, the realistic role in this area is landlord to a council’s housing team or an established charity, not operator.

Leasing the house: the option most owners overlook

Registered care providers, housing associations, councils and charities all lease houses. A commercial lease gives you rent from the day it starts, with no regulator, no manager and no staff. The return is lower than running a service yourself, and your name sits beside theirs if the service fails, so check their CQC or Ofsted rating, their accounts and their references, and have a solicitor review rent reviews, repairs and the condition the house must be handed back in.

What to do now

1. Call your council’s commissioning teams for adults, children and housing. Ask what they are short of, where, and how they buy it.
2. Ask the council’s planning team for pre-application advice on the use you have in mind, or apply for a lawful development certificate if you believe no permission is needed.
3. Check your mortgage, insurance and title for restrictions, and get consent in writing before signing anything.
4. Decide whether you want to run a service or own the building it runs from.
5. If you want to run one, start looking for a manager now and test their experience against the rules above.
6. Cost your chosen route month by month, including every month before income arrives.

How Cura Compliance can help

We prepare registration packs for Ofsted children’s homes and supported accommodation and for CQC supported living and care homes: the Statement of Purpose, policies, business plan, location assessments, forms and interview preparation. For owners who are still choosing, we have a free eight-page property options guide that sets these seven routes side by side.

If you have a house and are not sure what it should become, book a free consultation and bring the address. We will tell you which routes are realistic for it and what to check first.

Frequently asked questions

Can I turn my house into a children’s home without planning permission?

Sometimes, but rarely with certainty. Councils usually treat a children’s home staffed on shifts as use class C2, which needs permission when the house is currently C3, and they decide each case on its facts. A lawful development certificate or pre-application advice from the council settles it before you spend money.

Can I open a children’s home with no experience?

You can own one, but you cannot run it without an experienced manager. Ofsted will expect a Registered Manager who meets regulation 28, and it will interview the Responsible Individual, often the owner, on the law, safeguarding and the business. Many owners in this position recruit the manager first and apply second.

Do I need to register supported accommodation for 18 to 25 year olds?

Not with Ofsted, which only registers supported accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds. You need CQC registration only if staff give personal care. Supported housing licensing is planned under the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, with draft regulations out for consultation until 10 December 2026, but it is not in force yet.

How much does Ofsted charge to register a children’s home?

From 1 April 2026 the registration fee is £2,006 for a home with three or fewer places, or £3,284 plus £910 for the manager for four or more places. The annual fee starts at £5,390. Ofsted fees are paid by the provider directly to Ofsted.

Can I be the landlord and the care provider in supported living?

It is not banned, but CQC looks closely at it. Tenants must be able to change their care provider without losing their home, and they need real choice and control over both. Many owners avoid the question by letting through a housing association or partnering with a separate registered care provider.

Sources

• Registration fees for children’s social care services, gov.uk, fees from 1 April 2026, checked 7 November 2026
• Annual fees for children’s social care services, gov.uk, updated 1 April 2026
• Registering children’s homes: prioritising applications, Ofsted, gov.uk, updated 2 July 2026
• The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 28, legislation.gov.uk
• The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023, regulation 12, legislation.gov.uk
• The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021, legislation.gov.uk, in force 9 September 2021
• Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, legislation.gov.uk
• CQC fees for care and community social care, cqc.org.uk, checked 7 November 2026
• Applying as a new provider: guidance, CQC, cqc.org.uk
• Services for autistic people and people with a learning disability (Right support, right care, right culture), CQC, cqc.org.uk
• The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987, Schedule, legislation.gov.uk
• Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, legislation.gov.uk
• Supported housing licensing regime: consultation on draft regulations, MHCLG, gov.uk, 15 October 2026
• The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006, Schedule 3, legislation.gov.uk
• The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018, legislation.gov.uk
• Domestic Abuse Act 2021, Part 4, legislation.gov.uk