Sheltered housing definition
Approved document B, Fire Safety, Volume 2, Buildings other than dwellinghouses (2019 edition), suggests that sheltered housing:
'Includes two or more dwellings in the same building or on adjacent sites, designed
and constructed as residential accommodation for vulnerable or elderly people who receive, or will receive, a support service.'
The previous edition of the approved document gave a slightly different definition, suggesting that sheltered housing included:
where those dwellings are, in each case, designed and constructed for the purpose of providing residential accommodation for vulnerable or elderly people who receive, or who are to receive, a support service.
The Scottish Building Standards, Part I. Technical Handbook – Domestic, Appendix A Defined Terms, defines a sheltered housing complex as:
where those dwellings are, in each case, designed and constructed for the purpose of providing residential accommodation for people who receive, or who are to receive, a support service; and, for these purposes, “support service” has the same meaning as in the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001.’
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Apartment.
- Bungalow.
- Care Standards Act 2000.
- Core and cluster accommodation.
- Curtilage.
- Definition of institution.
- Dwellinghouse.
- Flat definition.
- Hostel.
- Household.
- Residential definition.
- Room for residential purposes.
- Shop definition.
- Specialist accommodation for older people.
- Supported housing.
- Terraced house.
- Types of building.
- Use class.
Featured articles
Check out some of the best features and news from Designing Buildings as well as key stories from around the web.
New and updated CLC building safety guidance.
New UK National Buildings Database.
Building Safety Wiki Interviews
Chief executive of the British Woodworking Federation.
Planning condition discharge in England and Wales
A brief explanation from a building compliance expert, with further links.
Overheating guidance and tools for building designers
Guidance for dealing with element of building fabric control that have increasing importance.
Shading for housing, a design guide
From the Good Homes Alliance and British Blind and Shutter Association.
UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC)
A shared framework for describing skills needs.
Social media ban consultation comes to close
CIOB urges UK Government to consider social media’s role in careers guidance in ban debate.
The latest of eight Skills England apprenticeship units
The addition of battery manufacturing welcomed by ECA with a warning about the risks of fast-tracked apprenticeship units.
Building Control Independent Panel final report
A precis of a key report led by Dame Hackitt with full recommendations and link to the government response.
Building Safety recap April, 2026
A short and longer run-through of the month, with links to further information and sources.