Stepping Stone accommodation: supporting young people into independence

Young people transitioning out of supported accommodation, as well as those in low paid employment, apprenticeships, or early-stage careers, often face a significant gap in the housing system. While many are considered too independent for high-support accommodation services, they frequently continue to require tailored support to sustain their progress and navigate the challenges of independent living. At the same time, high housing costs and limited affordable options mean they are often unable to access secure accommodation within the private rented sector. As a result, many young people experience housing instability, sofa surfing, overcrowded living arrangements, or homelessness, despite taking positive steps towards employment, education, and greater independence.

This challenge is particularly acute in London, where high private rental costs create substantial barriers for young people on low incomes, in entry-level employment, in training, or moving between jobs. Even where young people are motivated and capable of sustaining a tenancy, a lack of affordable move-on accommodation can undermine the progress made through earlier support interventions.

There is a clear need for accommodation models that bridge the gap between traditional supported housing and fully independent living. Such models provide affordable, stable accommodation alongside flexible, person-centred support, enabling young people to build confidence, develop independent living skills, and sustain employment or education. By offering a gradual transition rather than a cliff-edge move into the private rented sector, these pathways help prevent homelessness, promote long-term tenancy sustainment, and support positive outcomes across housing, wellbeing, and employment.

Stepping Stones Accommodation  

New Horizon’s various schemes are designed to provide a structured progression route for young people who are ready to move beyond supported housing, but who would benefit from a more gradual transition into independent living.

Young people are assessed for suitability and offered accommodation within a shared housing setting. This provides immediate housing stability while encouraging residents to develop positive tenancy behaviours, including rent payment, budgeting, property maintenance, and shared living.

Young people who successfully sustain their tenancy can progress into more independent accommodation within the pathway. This step-down approach enables individuals to continue building confidence and independence while maintaining access to a supportive housing environment.

A key operational feature of the model is the affordability of the accommodation. Through a Service Level Agreement with a partner organisation, rents are subsidised and set at the Local Housing Allowance Shared Accommodation Rate. This ensures accommodation costs remain accessible to young people who may be in either low paid employment, receiving benefits, undertaking training, or experiencing temporary unemployment. The affordability and accessibility of the accommodation also reduces financial stress, enabling residents to focus on career and independence progression rather than immediate housing concerns.

The subsidised rent model acts as an important safety net. Rather than facing the financial pressures associated with market-rate accommodation, residents are able to maintain housing stability during periods of changing circumstances, reducing the likelihood of rent arrears, tenancy breakdown and repeat homelessness.

Key Success Factors  

Several elements have been critical to the success of the model:

• Affordable rents linked to the Shared Accommodation Rate
• Partnership working through a formal SLA arrangement
• A clear progression pathway from supported housing to greater independence.
• Flexibility to support residents through periods of changing employment or income
• Access to safe, well-maintained accommodation in communities with good transport and employment links
• Light-touch support that promotes independence while remaining available when needed
• Rent/deposit & resource support for move on into PRS  

Centrepoint’s Independent Living Programme (ILP) is committed to building 300 ‘Stepping Stone’ homes across London and Greater Manchester to provide affordable spaces for working young people who have experienced homelessness.

Reuben House is the first major site, replacing a previous set of 8 tenement-style flats with 33 purpose-built, fully self-contained studio apartments within walking distance of a vibrant commercial centre in Southwark, and all major transport links.

Reuben House is distinct from supported housing and offers a genuine opportunity for young people to have somewhere to call their own while focusing on progressing at work, building their network, and developing hobbies and interests. Young people are charged one third of their individual gross salary in rent, allowing them the headroom to save for their next move as well as have the means to live and work somewhere they would otherwise be priced out of.

Young people who are working, or on an Apprenticeship for at least 30 hours per week declare themselves ready and willing to live on their own, and are assessed against a number of independence criteria, including affordability. Designed in partnership with young people, the apartments are deliberately smaller than the Nationally Described Space Standards to help demonstrate the value of the stepping stone model.

Turnover is per studio rather than in cohorts, thus there is no real distinction in tenure mix from typical sets of apartments. Support is provided on a floating basis, focusing on tenancy sustainment, particularly effective in those cases where young people fall out of work temporarily.

Entry is via a nomination process through the Local Authority, who have 10 days to refer the next young person meeting the agreed ‘particular characteristics’. After that period, Centrepoint can open up tenancies via other routes, including charities and self-referral. Young people in Reuben House will therefore have a range of backgrounds, including experience of care or supported housing, sofa surfing and HMOs. Move on routes include apartments in the private rented sector, house shares and shared ownership. The desired short-term tenancy model at Reuben House is working – with young people positively ‘growing out’ of their apartments after about 2 years, allowing the next person to move in and start their independence journey.

Despite the many benefits Reuben House brings to young people and the wider community, the process of getting more ILP developments off the ground is often a difficult one. Planning for smaller homes creates both barriers and delays – Centrepoint continues to look at ways the sector can influence towards a distinct use class for stepping stone as it builds its pipeline of 300 homes.

Through its current experience, Centrepoint has learned a number of lessons that could be useful to other organisations looking to provide stepping stone accommodation:

• Site selection is key – free / cheap doesn’t always mean best, and logistics around access / shared assets need to be discovered and agreed at the earliest possible stage.
• Cross-departmental local authority support is critical, and should be secured prior to agreeing to a development. 
• Capital funding mix can be hybrid in order to create affordability, and spreads the risk if it comes from multiple sources.
• Any commercial revenue model should be sufficiently robust to repay investment capital – how affordable can the homes be made to the tenants?
• Linked to this, how much non-rentable space is realistic – are communal shared spaces required for the target cohort and how are they reflected in the figures?
• If tenants require dedicated support, what does this look like and who should provide it?
• Although they need to be cost efficient, designs should aim to be practical, sustainable and beautiful – how can this balance be achieved?