Housing and mental illness

Having a stable home life is important in promoting recovery from mental illness. It may be that you have experienced a period of illness while living at home and you would like to remain where you live. However, it may be that you have had a period in hospital and may now not be able to return to where you were living, want more supportive housing or just want a change.

Considering your accommodation

Woman at windowThere is a lot to consider when thinking about the type of housing you want to live in.

Firstly consider the housing you are in presently, or were in.
What sort of housing is it?
Where is it located?
What sort of support do you have?
How was your health when you lived there?
What are the good aspects of your housing?
What are the bad aspects of your housing?
How was your housing funded?

Next, think about the type of housing you would like to live in. Be practical and realistic. You may need to take into account:

  • your health needs now and what support you need
  • the different types of housing available to you in your area
  • how you will fund the housing you want

Different types of housing


Knowing about the different types of housing open to people with severe mental illness is essential in choosing the type of accommodation that will suit you best. Accommodation schemes meet a range of needs and this tells you about some you may come across.

Types of accommodation include:

  • independent living, either living in a house you own or rent
  • living with your parents or a relative
  • supported housing, such as adult placement schemes; group homes, hostels, sheltered housing, residential care homes

In deciding which scheme will suit you best you should also take into consideration the availability of each type of accommodation in your area. Because of waiting lists for some types of accommodation, it may be necessary for you to consider short term accommodation until you are offered a place somewhere that you want to live.

Getting some advice

It is often helpful to get some advice when choosing suitable housing.

People who would be good to consult include:

Friends and family, support workers, key workers, your care co-ordinator, an advocate, nursing staff, your psychiatrist

Social care needs such as housing should be discussed both in care programme approach (CPA) reviews, and if you are in hospital the reviews leading up to your discharge.

National Advice Service Factsheets

The information in this section is taken from the NAS factsheet, which you can download in pdf format and print for individual use.

Housing options for people with a mental illness factsheet