GUIDE
How much does it cost to start a supported living service?
Less than a care home, because the people you support hold their own tenancies. But it is still a regulated business with real setup costs. Here is the honest picture.
Last reviewed: 05 June 2026
Why supported living costs less than a care home
Supported living is one of the more accessible adult care models to start, for one structural reason: you are not buying or running residential care home premises. The people you support live in their own homes, on their own tenancies, and you provide care and support to them there. That removes the single largest cost a care home carries, the property. What remains is the cost of registering and running a compliant care service, which is real but far smaller.
What you actually need to budget for
The costs of starting a supported living service are the costs of any CQC-registered care provider, minus the premises. Here is what makes up the figure.
No upfront fee; an annual provider fee follows by size.
Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care.
Residents hold their own tenancies.
How supported living gets funded
Most supported living work comes through local authorities, who commission services for people they support, secured by tendering, often through frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems, and preferred-supplier lists. The financial model is different from a private-pay business: your income depends on winning and holding local authority contracts, which is why our launch support includes a blueprint for finding and bidding for them.
One thing that affects your costs: the registration boundary
Before you budget at all, you need to know whether you even need to register, and that depends on whether your staff provide personal care. If they do, you register and the costs above apply. If your service is genuinely support-only, the picture is different. Getting this boundary right is the first thing to settle.
An honest cost picture for your plan
We build your entire supported living service and handle your CQC registration, and on your free consultation we give you an honest cost picture for your specific plan.
Related guides
Do you need CQC registration? The personal care boundary
When personal care triggers registration, and when it does not.
Read the guide →How much does CQC registration cost?
The full cost of registering a CQC care service in 2026.
Read the guide →How to become a registered manager
The Level 5 Diploma, the fit and proper test, and the application.
Read the guide →