You can probably house a young person without any problem, but you would need to check the terms of your tenancy to ensure that there are no restrictions such as sub-letting your home. It would be important to discuss this with your landlord

If you have a mortgage, check with your lender to see if you need their permission. Make it clear that you will be living there sharing your home with a young person. It is important that they know that it is a supported lodgings placement and not a tenancy.

Depending on whether your property is freehold or leasehold may be another aspect that you need to look into. If it leasehold then you will need to check the terms of the lease in case you need permission from your leasehold company. If you have paid off your mortgage or it is a freehold property then you will not need to inform anybody. .

People under 18 years old, do not count as adults for council tax, so if you are claiming single occupancy, it will not be affected. Once the young person reaches the age of 18, then you will need to pay the full rate for council tax.

You will need to seek specialist advice or discuss this with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) as it will depend if you are in receipt of means tested benefits and depend on your own personal circumstances.

The income that you will receive from being a host is likely to be treated as income for the purposes of income tax. The majority of supported lodgings schemes are covered by the ‘Rent a Room’ or ‘Qualifying Care Relief’ tax scheme with HMRC so for you it may be tax-free, but it all depends on your total taxable income. The money that you receive for having a young person living with you in supported lodgings, should be added to your taxable income for the year. This is something that you would need to discuss with your employer and your local tax office. Please remember that you only receive money for supported lodgings when you have a young person placed with you, which is paid for the duration of their stay so may not be regular income.

Adoption is a permanent arrangement that involves taking on full legal responsibility for a child until they reach adulthood.

Fostering is different as the young person remains the legal responsibility of the local authority and /or their birth parents. They live fairly geographically close to their own family and fostering provides an opportunity for other processes to work with the birth family to help resolve any issues which have resulted in the young person being placed in foster care.

With supported lodgings, the host does not have legal / parental responsibility for the young person; this remains with the local authority. The young person is a lodger in your home. .

You will need to inform your insurance company in writing that you intend to provide supported lodgings to young people. If they require specific information about the young person who will be placed with you, we will do our best to assist you with this. We recommend hosts to do this as like many different insurance policies, failure to disclose a change in circumstances may result in cover becoming void in the case of claim. It is important that you have buildings and contents insurance to cover the young person living there.

Yes, however you do need to live in the house and return there of an evening. If you work away from home, then being a host would not be possible. .

If you are working, at college or doing an apprenticeship; then you will need to pay a small weekly amount to the host towards food. The actual amount will be calculated based on the wage that you receive and will be discussed with you by the project worker. In some cases this equates to £12 per week.

We will discuss alternative arrangements with the social worker / personal assistant for the young person to be accommodated elsewhere whilst you are away. It is important that we have as much notice as possible to enable this to happen. A contingency plan for situations such as this will be included in the young person’s care plan prior to moving in with you.

Everyone needs their own space. This is especially important for young people placed in the scheme, who may have experienced traumatic situation(s) and are having to adapt to life in a new home with different people and routines. In a time of turmoil and uncertainty, having their own space can be extremely comforting for looked after children. That is why we will only place a young person in a home where s(he) will have their own bedroom.

A criminal record will not necessarily prevent you from becoming a host, but it is important that you are honest with us right from the start about any convictions you have. In return, we will be honest with you and tell you how it could affect your application. If you or any members of your household have any convictions related to offences against children, you will not be able to become a host.

We will give you as much information as possible about the young person before the placement begins. In short, whatever we know, you will know too.

No, we do not pay a retainer fee in between supported lodgings placements. We can only pay for the actual duration of the placement.

In most cases, you will have the opportunity to meet the young person before they move in; however this is not always possible if the young person is placed in an emergency. Where this happens, we will share as much information as possible with you before you decide whether to accept the placement.

Applying to become a host is free. However if you have lived outside the UK, we may ask you to pay for your own police check with that country and we will refund this if you are approved.

Transferring to us can be easier than you think. We will work with you and your current supported lodgings agency or local authority to make your move as easy and stress free as possible.