The financial benefits of supported housing

With our Save Our Supported Housing campaign taking place in the run up to the Spending Review, we've put together a research briefing on the financial benefits of supported housing. 

To make the case for supported homes, we’ve releasing new statistics that show if we could build enough supported homes to meet projected need by 2040, we could save the public purse £6bn every year at today’s prices.

A supported home is a lifeline for thousands of people who need help to live independently. But supported housing supply is not keeping up with demand. The government’s Supported Housing Review 2023 showed that currently we have a shortfall in England of up to 325,000 homes. By 2040, we will need between nearly 310,000 and 540,900 more spaces.

Without enough supported housing, thousands of people could go without the support they need, costing the public purse and leaving people who could live independently with support, facing long stays in residential or institutional care, or at risk of homelessness.

But acting now and investing in supported homes could actually save money. To demonstrate the financial benefits of supported housing, we have compared the cost to the government of delivering supported housing, using data from the 2023 Supported Housing Review, to the cost of the alternative accommodation for those people were they not in supported housing.

Our key findings include:

• The supported housing sector in England currently saves the public purse an estimated £3.5bn every year.
• It is estimated that we need to build an additional 28,400 supported homes per year between now and 2040 – 22,400 for older people, and 6,000 for working-age adults.
• Building these extra supported homes could add nearly £4bn to the national economy each year at today’s prices, supporting more than 52,000 FTE jobs.
• Building those homes by 2040 would enable supported housing need to be met and could save the public purse £6bn every year at today’s prices.

Read the full briefing and a summary of findings using the links below. Contact us with any questions using the details at the bottom of the page.