Guide · rules for England and Wales, checked 2 October 2026
The 12-week rule: who can stay in the house
When someone moves into a care home for good, the council does not count their home straight away. For the first 12 weeks it is ignored. After that it is ignored for as long as certain people live there. Here is who those people are, and what happens when they move out.
Run the free care check for your house: it asks who lives there and tells you whether the home is likely to count.
The words the council uses
- Financial assessment: the council’s means test. It adds up savings, income and, sometimes, the home.
- Disregard: something the council must leave out of that sum.
- Property disregard: the home is left out, so its value does not count towards the £23,250 limit in England.
The 12-week property disregard
When someone first moves into a care home as a permanent resident, the council must ignore the value of their main or only home for 12 weeks, starting on the day they move in. This gives the family time to decide what to do with the house without a rushed sale.
- It only makes a difference if savings, not counting the home, are £23,250 or less. With more than that, you pay the full fee anyway.
- If the stay began as temporary, the 12 weeks start when it becomes permanent.
- If the house is sold within the 12 weeks, the money from the sale counts from the date of sale.
- The council must also give a fresh 12 weeks when a relative who kept the home disregarded dies or moves into a care home.
- It may give 12 weeks, but does not have to, after a sudden and unexpected change in money, such as a fall in shares or an unexpected debt.
- If someone leaves care and goes back within 52 weeks, they get only what is left of the first 12 weeks, not a new 12. After more than 52 weeks, they get a fresh 12 weeks.
When the home is ignored for good
After 12 weeks the home still does not count if it is the main or only home of a qualifying person. This is called a mandatory disregard: the council has no choice. The person must have lived there, without a break, since before the move into the care home.
| Who lives in the home | Is the home ignored? |
|---|---|
| Husband, wife, civil partner or partner | Yes, unless they are estranged |
| Former partner who is a lone parent | Yes, even if divorced or estranged |
| A relative aged 60 or over | Yes |
| A relative of any age who is incapacitated | Yes |
| The resident’s own child under 18 | Yes |
| A relative under 60 who is not incapacitated | No, but the council can choose to (see below) |
| A friend or carer who is not a relative | No, but the council can choose to |
Who counts as a relative: a parent, parent-in-law, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, step-parent, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece. Adopted children and adoptive parents count. So does the husband, wife, civil partner or partner of a parent, child, in-law, step-relative, brother or sister.
Incapacitated is not closely defined. It is usually accepted if the relative gets Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance or a similar disability benefit, or is as disabled as someone who would qualify. The council may ask for medical evidence.
What “main or only home” means
It must be where the person really lives. Being fond of the house, or staying there now and then, is not enough. The council looks at things like where they pay council tax, where they are registered to vote and with a doctor, and where their belongings are. Someone away for work, such as in the armed forces, can still count it as their main home.
When the council can choose to ignore the home
Councils also have a discretion: they may ignore the home in other cases, but they do not have to. The guidance gives the example of a friend or carer who gave up their own home to look after the person, so the house is now their only home, or an elderly companion of the person. A relative who moves in after the care home move can also be considered, if they genuinely need a home. Moving in solely to protect the family inheritance is given as a reason to say no. Ask in writing, and keep evidence of why the house is that person’s only home.
Four worked examples
All four assume savings, not counting the house, of under £23,250, and a permanent move into a care home in England.
1. A widow who lived alone
The house is empty once she moves. It is ignored for the first 12 weeks. From week 13 it counts, so she will pay the full fee. The house does not have to be sold: she can ask for a deferred payment agreement, set up during the 12 weeks.
2. A husband who stays at home
His wife moves into care. He is her husband and still lives there, so the house is ignored for as long as he does. If he later dies or moves into care himself, she gets a fresh 12 weeks before the house counts.
3. A daughter aged 62 who lives with her mother
She has lived there as her only home for years. She is a relative aged 60 or over, so the house is ignored. If she had her own home and only stayed now and then, it would not be.
4. A son aged 45 who lives with his father
He is under 60 and not disabled, so there is no mandatory disregard. The house counts after 12 weeks. If he gave up his own home to care for his father, he can ask the council to use its discretion. It may agree; it may not.
If the person who keeps it ignored moves out or dies
The disregard lasts only while they live there. When it ends, the house counts. If they died or moved into a care home, the council must first give 12 weeks. If they left for another unexpected reason, the council may give 12 weeks.
Temporary and respite stays
If the stay is expected to last no more than 52 weeks (or, exceptionally, not much longer), the person is a temporary resident. The home is ignored while they intend to go back and it is still there for them, or while they are selling it to buy somewhere more suitable. For a short stay of up to 8 weeks, such as respite, the council can choose to charge as if they were still living at home.
Deferred payments
When the house does count, the council must offer a deferred payment agreement to anyone with savings of £23,250 or less, not counting the home, whose home is not disregarded and who can offer the house as security. The council pays the fees and is repaid, with interest, when the house is sold, usually after death. If the home is disregarded, there is nothing to defer. The care fees guide has the current interest rate and fees.
Wales
Wales has its own regulations, the Care and Support (Financial Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2015, but the property rules are written the same way: the same 12 weeks, the same list of qualifying relatives and the same discretion. The difference is the limit. In 2026 to 2027, anyone in a care home in Wales with capital over £50,000 pays the full fee, and there is no sliding scale below it. Wales has its own deferred payment scheme too.
When to get advice
Get advice from a solicitor who specialises in older clients, or from Age UK or Age Cymru, if the council says the home counts and you think someone qualifies, if a relative moved in after the care home move, or if the home is jointly owned. It also helps to have a lasting power of attorney in place, so someone can speak to the council if the person in care cannot. A House Plan puts who lives where, and what happens to the house, down on paper for the whole family.