The draft licensing detail is now available
You want to test what your organisation can evidence now, then close gaps steadily before regulations and application requirements are finalised.
Supported housing licensing readiness
Draft regulations are here. Know where your service stands.
Pixel Harbour helps smaller supported-housing providers assess their evidence, operational practice and governance against emerging licensing requirements—before applications and inspections begin.
38support-readiness checks
31property and safety checks
41evidence-request items
1prioritised action plan
Who it is for
Clear assurance without an in-house compliance team.
Designed for small and medium-sized providers that need an honest baseline, a manageable route forward and evidence they can stand behind.
Your evidence sits in different places
Good work is happening, but policy, support records, property controls and management oversight do not yet form one convincing picture.
You need priorities, not another long checklist
You want to know what is urgent, what is important and what can enter the normal improvement cycle.
You value constructive challenge
You want a reviewer who understands service delivery and can test whether written controls are reflected in practice.
A staged route to readiness
Test against the draft. Update when the rules become final.
Each stage has a defined purpose. Providers can use the published draft requirements now while retaining a clear process for later changes.
Stage 01 · Available now
Draft Licensing Readiness Review
A structured review of your current support, property and governance evidence against existing duties and the published draft regulations.
- Pre-review evidence request
- Management and staff conversations
- Representative resident-journey sample
- Property record review and walk-through
Stage 02 · When final detail lands
Regulation Confirmation Review
A focused update identifying what the final regulations and guidance change for your service.
- New requirement mapping
- Evidence-gap refresh
- Action-plan reprioritisation
Stage 03 · Before application
Mock Licensing Assessment
A final challenge against the published application and licensing requirements.
- Application evidence test
- Leadership challenge session
- Residual-risk report
What the readiness review covers
A whole-service licensing view, built from evidence.
The framework follows resident experience through the service while testing the people, governance and property controls proposed within the draft licensing regime.
Provider, schemes & licence roles
Legal entity, scheme/property/unit registers, landlord and support roles, proposed licence holder, nominated individual and service manager.
People & suitability
Fit-and-proper-person evidence, competence, DBS assurance, staffing, training, supervision and accountable leadership.
Needs & person-centred support
Four-week assessment controls, support planning, delivery, outcomes, independence, communication and entitlements.
Resident voice & safeguards
Involvement, complaints, safeguarding, ASB, pre-eviction practice and accessible information.
Property controls
HMO and planning position, fire, gas, electrical, water, accessibility, hazards, repairs and contractor competence.
Standards & inspection evidence
Records connecting day-to-day support with the National Supported Housing Standards and demonstrating that controls work in practice.
Governance & financial resilience
Board assurance, licensing and remediation costs, Housing Benefit exposure, risk ownership and regulatory change control.
Partners, agents & leases
Oversight of third-party support providers, managing agents, split responsibilities, lease-model risks and exit arrangements.
What you receive
Useful outputs, not a report that sits on a shelf.
Concise executive findings
Evidence-based scorecards
Critical and material gaps
Prioritised action plan with owners
Feedback and next-step session
Draft Licensing Readiness Review
A focused review with a clear scope and fee.
The review gives providers an evidence-based view of current readiness, identifies priority gaps and turns findings into practical actions. Scope and fee are agreed before work begins.
Fixed scope agreed before work begins
No long-term commitment
Your information remains confidential
Readiness review fee
£950–£1,250
Final price depends on service size, number of schemes and agreed on-site scope. Travel within the core South West area is discussed upfront.
Book a licensing-readiness discussionOperational experience
Built around how supported housing actually runs.
Pixel Harbour brings a service-manager perspective to assurance. The method reflects the practical reality of multi-site provision: resident support, safeguarding, staff leadership, property responsibilities, contractors, incidents, referrals, voids and the evidence needed to show that controls work.
The tone is constructive and direct. Strong practice is recognised. Gaps are explained clearly, prioritised by risk and turned into actions that managers can own.
Important boundary: Pixel Harbour provides independent operational assurance and readiness support. It does not provide legal advice, regulator approval or certification, and a review cannot guarantee a future licence.
Common questions
Before you enquire.
Are the licensing requirements final?
No. Draft regulations were published in October 2026 and remain subject to consultation, parliamentary approval and supporting guidance. Pixel Harbour’s review uses the latest published proposals alongside existing legal and operational requirements. The framework will be updated as the regulatory position develops.
Will a Pixel Harbour review guarantee that we receive a licence?
No independent consultant can guarantee a licensing decision. The review identifies evidence gaps, operational risks and practical improvement actions to help your organisation prepare for application and inspection.
Is the review an inspection?
It is an independent review, not a statutory inspection. The approach is supportive but evidence-led: records, explanations and observed practice are compared, and contradictions are recorded as findings.
Will you need access to resident personal data?
The method uses small, anonymised samples. Providers are asked to remove names and unnecessary identifiers before sharing evidence. Any agreed handling arrangements are documented before the review.
Does the review cover CQC-regulated care?
The review can check that responsibility and registration boundaries are understood, but it does not replace CQC assurance of regulated personal care. The exact scope is agreed before work starts.
Where do you work?
The initial focus is Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. On-site visits bring valuable insight into day-to-day practice, supported by remote evidence review where appropriate.
Start with a conversation
Tell me what you need clarity on.
A short first conversation will establish whether the Draft Licensing Readiness Review fits your service, what the sensible scope would be and whether there is any work you should do first.
Devon · Cornwall · Somerset · Dorset