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Stedwise

Know where every home stands before licensing starts.

Licensing is expected in 2027 or 2028, and Housing Benefit will be linked to the licence. Stedwise shows, district by district, whether each licence you will need is ready, who owes each piece of evidence, and what to fix first.

Start the free readiness check

About ten minutes. No account needed. Your result on screen, and as a PDF if you want it.

Birmingham

CheckingCritical
Holder
Your organisation
Covers
6 addresses · 3 schemes
  1. 1
    Standard of accommodation
    Decent Homes or HHSRS; no Category 1 hazard under enforcement
    Met
  2. 2
    Use of accommodation
    Safe, accessible for the residents and well maintained
    Met
  3. 3
    Care, support and supervision
    National Supported Housing Standards, unless commissioned
    Gap
  4. 4
    Needs assessment
    Each resident assessed at move-in or within four weeks
    Met
  5. 5
    Service managers
    Character, capacity, experience and skills confirmed
    Blocker
  6. Fit and proper person test
    Directors, partners and the nominated director
    Unknown
1 blocker4 to prepare2 questionsConfirmed policy
A sample licence card. Pass or fail on each condition, no percentage. Condition 5 is blocked here because one address has no named service manager.

Three answers, each kept to its own rule set

The licence and the Standards judge different parties, so Stedwise scores them separately and never merges them.

Licence cards, pass or fail per condition

One card per holder per council district. Five conditions and the fit-and-proper test, each met, gap, unknown or not applicable. No percentage, because a licence has none.

  • 1 · Standard of accommodationMet
  • 3 · Care, support and supervisionGap
  • 5 · Service managersBlocker

A Readiness Index against the 70% threshold

A 0 to 100 score against the National Supported Housing Standards or Birmingham S.E.A.Q.A.S., with your weakest standard called out, since licensing may assess each standard separately.

58out of 100 Readiness Index
Developing (40–69%)An example. The raised tick is the 70% threshold.

A gap list ranked by points per hour

Every unmet criterion, ordered by the Readiness Index points it adds for each hour of work, with what “done” looks like and your projected score if the top five are done.

  1. STF-7Pre-eviction protocol2 hours
  2. SOP-1Statement of purpose2 hours
  3. STF-4Performance management that rewards achievement8 hours

A responsibility map, because the licence holder is rarely the only party

The licence goes to whoever is “managing or in control” of the housing. The government response says that “in many cases, the managing agent will be the appropriate person” (government response (opens in a new tab)).

For each scheme, Stedwise records who owns, leases, manages, supports and commissions it, then who performs sixteen functions, who answers for them and who holds the evidence. Each party sees its own gaps.

Stedwise never decides who holds a licence. Where two parties could, it shows the control facts and the questions to put to the council.

Five of the sixteen functions at one scheme
FunctionHead landlordManaging agentSupport provider
Repairsanswers for itdoes it, holds the evidenceNot involved
Inspectionsanswers for itdoes it, holds the evidenceNot involved
ReferralsNot involvedanswers for it, holds the evidencedoes it
Needs assessmentsNot involvedanswers for itdoes it, holds the evidence
SafeguardingNot involvedanswers for itdoes it, holds the evidence
does itDoes itanswers for itAnswers for itHolds the evidence

The score opens the door. Evidence keeps it honest.

Self-reported answers get you a first result. Once you subscribe, records replace answers wherever they exist, so the Readiness Index reflects what you can show, not what you believe.

Evidence beats self-report

Certificates, adopted policies, training records and support reviews feed the index directly. Completing the linked evidence closes the task by itself.

Nothing quietly expires

Gas, electrical and fire certificates, DBS checks, reviews and policy review dates raise alerts before they lapse, and an expired safety certificate shows as a blocker.

Rules watched daily

Stedwise checks 62 government sources every day. Each change becomes an obligation that quotes its source word for word, and a person approves it before it counts.

Every rule says how firm it is, like a map legend

Much of licensing is not yet law. Each rule and obligation in Stedwise carries a chip whose border tells you how settled it is: solid for law, dashed for proposals, dotted for our forecasts. Forecasts never count as law.
Law now:
In force today.For example: The annual gas safety check.Counts in both views of a licence card, and can be a blocker.
Confirmed policy:
The government says it “will”.For example: One licence per district; a needs assessment within four weeks.Counts in the “at licensing” view.
Proposed:
In a consultation or a draft.For example: The draft licensing regulations, due late 2026.Shown, never scored.
Our forecastp=0.70:
Our prediction from named analogues, with a probability.For example: Disqualified-director and insolvency checks, modelled on CQC regulation 5.Drives only no-regret tasks. Never counts as law.

The dates that decide your next year

The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 gave government the power to license supported housing, set National Standards and tie Housing Benefit to the licence. The response of 16 April 2026 confirmed all three.

Read the licensing guide

  1. 2027 or 2028
    Locally led licensing begins for all supported exempt accommodation in England, with Housing Benefit linked to the licence. The minister said “next year” on 25 June 2026 (written answer 8570 (opens in a new tab)); Birmingham says 2027 or 2028.
  2. 31 March 2027
    First council supported housing strategies planned. The regulations setting the deadline are not yet made.
  3. Early 2027
    DWP updates its Housing Benefit guidance for supported housing claims to reflect the Act (written answer 15943 (opens in a new tab)).
  4. Late 2026
    MHCLG consults on draft licensing regulations.
  5. 10 September 2026
    The minister confirms the draft licensing regulations consultation will come “later this year” (written answer 27109 (opens in a new tab)).
  6. 1 May 2026
    Renters' Rights Act advertising rules in force: stated rent, property reference, penalties up to £7,000 then £40,000.

Priced by address, because the licence is a list of addresses

The readiness check is free and stays free. No setup fees. Prices exclude VAT; annual billing gives two months free.

  • Ready

    Any number of addresses

    £0forever

    Readiness check, responsibility map, licence cards (law today) and your gap list.

  • Starter

    1–5 addresses

    £149a month

    Gap plan and tasks, evidence vault, alerts, templates, licence cards with forecasts and a weekly rules digest.

  • Provider

    6–25 addresses

    £349a month

    Referrals, resident records, staff and training, safeguarding, property, fit and proper, evidence room and contract comparison.

  • Portfolio

    26–100 addresses

    £599a month

    Portfolio views, board reports, multi-user permissions and share links for housing associations.

Over 100 addresses priced on request. The S.E.A.Q.A.S. pack is £750 once, credited in full against a subscription taken within 90 days. Full pricing