The home environment is often a key determinant of independence, wider health and wellbeing in later life. On account of the challenges associated with ageing, it is common for older people to reassess their home. One common option is specialist housing. While terminology varies, most specialist housing can be categorised as either sheltered (housing with support) or extra care (housing with care). In the context of increased marketisation of wider welfare provision, through the Care Act 2014 UK governments have obligated local authorities to provide information and advice (I&A) on welfare (including housing). Funding has also been made available to key third sector I&A providers. With resources an important consideration in the third sector, there is evidence that telephone services are more financially efficient when compared to face to face support. Although little is known around efficacy, telephone services have an assumed importance. This presentation discusses the current state of the specialist housing market in the UK and reports on a realist evaluation of a key third sector telephone housing options service. The problematic conceptualisation of the welfare consumer (Harding et al. 2014, 2016) is compounded by critical supply-side issues that are present in both social and private specialist housing sectors. On this basis, the wider context within which older people are assumed to be active agents can be described as complex, unresponsive and lacking transparency. But how, why, for whom and in what circumstances does a telephone housing options service (dis)empower older people to navigate through this maze?