Hosting a young person through Step by Step’s Supported Lodgings scheme offers both purpose and practical benefit. You can make a life-changing difference while receiving a reliable weekly income designed to recognise your time, care and household costs.
At Step by Step, we know that offering your home is a big commitment, which is why we make sure hosts are fully supported, both emotionally and financially, so you can focus on what really matters: helping a young person thrive.
As a Supported Lodgings host, you provide a safe, stable environment for a young person aged 16–24 who’s ready to take steps towards independence. Many are care leavers or young people who have experienced homelessness and simply need structure, stability, and someone who believes in them.
Financially, hosting also helps you. You’ll receive payments designed to cover household costs and fairly recognise your role in supporting a young person.
Your weekly payment is made up of two parts:
Local Housing Allowance (LHA): Paid at the single-room rate for your local area. This covers the young person’s accommodation costs.
Step by Step Allowance: Between £70 and £90 per week, depending on your area. This is to recognise your time, guidance, and ongoing support.
Together, these payments are designed to ensure you’re not out of pocket while helping a young person towards independence.
To give you an idea, here are some current examples of typical LHA single-room rates (as of 2025):
| Area | Approximate Weekly LHA (Single Room Rate) |
|---|---|
| Basingstoke | £93.51 |
| Aldershot (Blackwater Valley) | £110.00 |
| Swindon | £103.87 |
| Reading | £90.10 |
| Southampton (and Eastleigh) | £97.81 |
| Weymouth (Mid and West Dorset) | £98.11 |
These figures are reviewed annually by the government and may vary slightly depending on your postcode. You can check your local rate on the GOV.UK website by searching for “Local Housing Allowance rates”.
You can host more than one young person if your home and circumstances allow. Payments are made weekly and continue for as long as the young person remains in your placement.
Supported Lodgings is about much more than offering a room, it’s about helping a young person learn the skills and confidence they need for independence. As a host, you’ll offer practical support, emotional guidance, and a steady presence that helps them move forward.
Typical support might include:
Helping a young person budget, cook, or shop for food
Encouraging good routines around school, work or college
Offering advice about managing bills or appointments
Listening when things feel difficult
Helping them plan their next steps towards independent living
This support fits naturally into daily life. It could mean cooking a meal together once a week, going through a shopping list, or sharing ideas about meal planning. It’s about gentle encouragement and real-world learning, not a full-time commitment.
You’ll usually provide around 7 to 10 hours of support each week at the start of a placement, gradually reducing this as the young person gains confidence and independence. By the time they are ready to move on, this often reduces to around an hour a week, as they’re managing most things themselves.
Hosting can fit around your life, many of our hosts work full or part time, while others are retired or between jobs. What matters most is that you can offer time, patience, and a listening ear.
You also have full control over who lives with you. Step by Step will carefully match you with a young person based on your preferences, household setup and lifestyle, placements are always discussed and agreed together. We’ll always discuss options with you before a placement goes ahead.
Hosts come from all walks of life. You can be single or in a relationship, any religion, a homeowner or a tenant, you just need to be aged 21 or over and have a spare room in a house or flat where you can provide a safe, welcoming space.
To learn more about the wider Supported Lodgings programme, visit our Supported Lodgings page.
““Every young person brings something different. Watching them make progress, building a bit of trust where they may not have had anyone to trust before — that’s one of the best things about being a host. You don’t have to be perfect, just willing to give someone a chance.”
When you become a host, you’re never doing it alone, you’re joining a community of people all working together to give young people a brighter future. Step by Step’s Supported Lodgings team is here to guide, encourage, and celebrate each step forward with you.
Together, we form a network of support that includes:
Comprehensive training before you start, so you feel confident and prepared
Regular contact and weekly guidance from a dedicated keyworker
24/7 advice and reassurance whenever you need it
Peer connection with other hosts who share your experience and values
You’re part of a team that changes lives, one spare room, one conversation, and one young person at a time
You may see a slight increase in your household expenses, such as utilities, but the allowance is designed to cover these. Most hosts find that the payments comfortably offset any additional costs.
Example:
A host in Basingstoke receives the LHA single-room rate (currently around £93.51 per week) plus a Step by Step allowance of £80. That’s a total of £174 per week, or over £9,000 a year per young person, while giving someone the stability they need to build a future.
Becoming a host starts with a simple conversation. There’s no commitment and no pressure, just the opportunity to find out more about how hosting could work for you.
From 9–16 November, we’re proud to celebrate the hosts who open their homes to young people finding their feet.
As the UK’s largest provider of Supported Lodgings, Step by Step supports young people to build skills, confidence, and independence for a brighter future.
Discover how you can join them.
