Will I have to sell my house to pay for care?

It is the first question almost every family asks, and the honest answer is: often not, and rarely straight away. Whether your home is counted depends on the type of care you need, who else lives in the property, and where in the UK you are. This guide sets out the rules as they stand in 2026, with every figure dated.

The short answer. Your home is never counted if you receive care in your own home. It is only ever counted when you move permanently into a care home, and even then there are several situations where it is disregarded, sometimes indefinitely.

How the means test works in England

If you have eligible care needs, your council carries out a financial assessment (a means test) to work out how much you contribute. In England, two capital thresholds have applied since April 2010 and remain in place for 2026/27:

• Above £23,250 in assessable capital: you pay the full cost of your care. This is called self-funding.
• Between £14,250 and £23,250: you contribute from your income, plus a tariff of £1 a week for every £250 of capital above £14,250.
• Below £14,250: your capital is left alone, and only your income is assessed.

Whatever happens, you keep a Personal Expenses Allowance from your income, set at £31.80 a week for 2026/27 in England, so you are never left with nothing for personal spending.

Northern Ireland uses the same £23,250 and £14,250 limits. Scotland and Wales are more generous, and we cover them lower down.

When your home counts, and when it does not

This is the part that matters most. The value of your home is treated very differently depending on your circumstances.

Your home is not counted at all if you are cared for at home. The means test for care in your own home (often called domiciliary care) excludes the property you live in. Selling up simply does not arise.

If you move permanently into a care home, your home is disregarded indefinitely while any of these people still live there:

• your husband, wife, partner or civil partner
• a relative aged 60 or over
• a relative under 60 who is incapacitated
• a child of yours under 16 whom you maintain
• a former partner who is a lone parent, in some cases

This is an ongoing disregard, not a temporary one. As long as a qualifying person lives in the home, its value stays out of the assessment.

A practical point. Someone cannot move into the property purely to trigger the disregard after you have gone into care. The rules are designed to protect a genuine existing household, not to create one after the fact.

The 12-week breathing space

If none of the indefinite disregards apply, you still are not forced to sell on day one. When you move permanently into a care home and your other capital (ignoring the house) is below £23,250, the council disregards your property for the first 12 weeks of the stay. During this period you pay your assessed contribution and the council funds the rest.

The point of the 12-week disregard is to give you time to make a calm decision: sell, rent the property out, or set up a deferred payment agreement. It also applies from a later date if an existing disregard ends, for example because a qualifying relative who lived there dies or themselves moves into care.

Delaying the sale: deferred payment agreements

If you do not want to sell, you may be able to use a deferred payment agreement. This is a loan from the council, secured by a legal charge against your home. The council pays your care fees and the debt is repaid later, usually when the property is sold or from your estate after death. Interest and some administration fees apply, and you are still expected to contribute from your income.

To qualify you generally need eligible care needs, savings below £23,250 (not counting the home), and no qualifying relative living in the property. It is a way to keep the house and avoid a rushed sale, not a way to avoid the cost entirely.

Worth knowing. There is no longer a cap on lifetime care costs in England. The £86,000 cap announced in 2021 was due in October 2025 but was cancelled by the government in July 2024, so for now there is no upper limit on what a self-funder may pay over time. (House of Commons Library, 2026.)

A warning about giving assets away

It is natural to wonder about handing the house to your children early. Be careful. If a council decides you deliberately gave away property or savings to reduce a care bill, this is treated as deliberate deprivation of assets, and it can assess you as though you still owned them. There is no fixed time limit on how far back it can look. Timing and intent are what matter, so take independent legal and financial advice before making any transfer.

The picture across the four nations

The rules differ depending on where you live, as of 2026/27:

In Scotland, free personal and nursing care does not make a care home free. The Scottish Government pays fixed weekly amounts toward the care element, but the accommodation and living costs are still means-tested against the capital limits above.

What to do next

1. Ask the council for a care needs assessment. Funding follows need, and the financial assessment only happens after needs are agreed. It is free and you are entitled to it whatever your means.
2. Work out who lives in the home. If a qualifying relative is there, the property is likely disregarded indefinitely, which changes everything.
3. Use the 12 weeks. If the home does count, do not rush. Use the disregard period to weigh selling, renting, or a deferred payment.
4. Get independent advice on anything involving the property, deferred payments, or annuities. A specialist care fees adviser can save far more than they cost.

Check the record before you choose. Funding is only half the decision. The other half is whether a home is actually any good. Homesplace shows the official regulator's record for every care home in Britain, with every fact dated and sourced, so you can compare on the evidence before you sign anything.

Sources

• Department of Health and Social Care, social care charging arrangements and capital limits, 2026/27.
• House of Commons Library: Introducing a cap on care costs (cap cancelled July 2024).
• Age UK Factsheet 38: Property and paying for residential care.
• GOV.UK: Care and support statutory guidance.
• Care Information Scotland: personal and nursing care rates (April 2026 rates).

Homesplace is an independent service and is not affiliated with the Care Quality Commission, the NHS, or any government department. This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. Figures are correct as of June 2026 and are reviewed regularly.