Deinstitutionalisation of care for people with mental illness and organized community housing programs are getting more popularity as a form of help, but research on the effectiveness of such services is still rare. The main objective of the study was to compare the quality of life of users located in the residential accommodation with the users in community based housing. The study included 70 participants, of whom 31 were accommodated in the residential accommodation, while 39 used the service of community based housing. A sociodemographic questionnaire and a questionnaire on quality of life were applied. People accommodated in the residential accommodation and the participants accommodated in community based housing, except for age, did not differ in basic sociodemographic features. Participants in community based housing program had a significantly higher quality of life in certain segments, but the overall quality of life and the quality of life by sub-scales of the questionnaire did not differ between the examined groups. Differences in certain segments of quality of life suggest, to some degree, that a community based housing program which moves out of conventional institution and “returns” the person in the regular social environment, is effective and desirable form of care for adults with mental illnesses.