Selling a house to pay for care fees: an honest guide

You don’t automatically have to sell a home to pay for care. In England, a local-authority means test decides how much you contribute, and the home’s value is ignored if a spouse, partner or a qualifying relative still lives there. Even where the home does count, a Deferred Payment Agreement can let you avoid selling in your lifetime, and if care is mainly for health needs the NHS may pay in full. Selling is one option among several — get the assessment done first.

Key takeaways

  • In England the care means test uses two capital limits: above £23,250 you’re a “self-funder”; below £14,250 you’re assessed on income only; in between you pay a tariff of £1 a week for every £250 of capital. These figures are unchanged for 2026/27.
  • The £86,000 care cap that was due in October 2025 was scrapped by the government, so the old limits still apply and there’s no confirmed reform date.
  • Your home’s value is disregarded if your husband, wife or partner — or a relative aged 60+, a disabled relative, or a dependent child — still lives there.
  • For the first 12 weeks of a permanent care stay, the council must ignore the home’s value (the “12-week property disregard”), giving you time to decide.
  • A Deferred Payment Agreement lets the council lend against the home so it isn’t sold during the person’s lifetime — repaid later from the estate, with interest and a fee.
  • Giving the home away to avoid fees is deprivation of assets — there’s no time limit on how far back a council can look, so the “7-year rule” does not apply here.
  • If a sale is the right move, our fee-free Fixed Price™ route aims for up to 95% of market value to protect the estate; a fast Cash Sale suits an empty home that’s draining money.

Do you have to sell your house to pay for care?

Not necessarily. When someone moves into a care home permanently, the council carries out a financial assessment (means test) under the Care Act 2014 to work out how much they must pay. Whether the home is counted depends on who else lives there and which funding routes apply. Many families sell when they didn’t need to — so before doing anything, get the council’s care needs assessment and financial assessment done, and take independent advice. Selling should be a decision you reach after understanding the rules, not a panic move before.

How the care means test works in England

The assessment looks at capital (savings, investments and, sometimes, property) and income (pensions and most benefits). Where capital sits against two thresholds decides the contribution:

Capital What you pay
Above £23,250 You pay the full cost of care — a “self-funder”.
£14,250 – £23,250 You contribute from income, plus a tariff of £1/week for every £250 of capital in this band.
Below £14,250 You’re assessed on income only; your capital is left alone.

These limits have been frozen since 2010 and remain the same for 2026/27. The person keeps a Personal Expenses Allowance (£30.65 a week in 2026/27) for their own spending. Attendance Allowance — a non-means-tested benefit for people over State Pension age who need help (two rates, around £76.70 and £114.60 a week in 2026/27) — can also go towards care costs.

The care cap was scrapped. A planned £86,000 lifetime cap on care costs was due to start in October 2025 but was cancelled by the government, so the £14,250/£23,250 limits above still apply and there is no confirmed date for reform. Be wary of older articles written as if the cap is coming.

When is the home NOT counted? (property disregards)

This is the part families most often get wrong. The council must ignore the value of the home if it’s still lived in by any of the following:

The council also has discretion to disregard the home in other cases — for example, where a long-term carer lives there. If the home is counted, it’s valued at current market value minus any mortgage and minus 10% for the costs of selling, and where it’s jointly owned the council values only the person’s beneficial share (not an automatic half). If the person only goes into care temporarily, the home isn’t counted at all.

What is the 12-week property disregard?

When someone moves permanently into a care home and their property would otherwise be counted, the council must disregard its value for the first 12 weeks. This “12-week property disregard” is designed to give families breathing room — time to decide whether to sell, rent out the home, or set up a Deferred Payment Agreement — without fees eating into savings from day one. The person may still contribute from income and other capital during those weeks, and the position is reassessed afterwards.

Can you avoid selling with a Deferred Payment Agreement?

Often, yes. A Deferred Payment Agreement (DPA) is a loan from the council secured against the home, so the property doesn’t have to be sold during the person’s lifetime — the debt is repaid later, usually when the home is eventually sold or from the estate. The council must offer a DPA if the person is assessed as needing residential care, their capital apart from the home is below £23,250, the home isn’t disregarded, and their income isn’t enough to cover the fees. You can typically borrow up to around 90% of the home’s value. The council charges interest and an administration fee, and you must keep the home insured and maintained — some families rent it out to cover the deferred fees and upkeep while the DPA runs.

Does the NHS ever pay care fees?

Yes, in two situations, and both are worth checking before you sell anything. NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is fully funded, free care — including accommodation — for people whose needs are primarily health related; it is not means-tested, so the home is irrelevant if it applies. It’s assessed through a Checklist and then a Decision Support Tool. Separately, NHS-funded Nursing Care (FNC) is a flat weekly payment (around £268 a week in 2026/27) made to a care home towards nursing costs where someone needs nursing care but doesn’t qualify for full CHC. Always ask for a CHC assessment if health needs are significant — many people who qualify are never assessed.

Can you give the house away to avoid care fees?

No — and this is the most costly mistake families make. Deliberately giving away or under-selling a home to reduce care charges is deprivation of assets, and councils can treat the person as if they still owned it (as “notional capital”). Crucially, there is no time limit on how far back a council can look — the “7-year rule” people remember from Inheritance Tax simply does not apply to care fees. Councils can even pursue the person who received the gift. Asset-protection trusts marketed as “care fees protection” carry the same risk and don’t reliably shield the home. If you’re worried, take regulated advice from a member of the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) rather than acting on a sales pitch.

Who can sell the home if the person has lost capacity?

If the person moving into care can no longer make decisions for themselves, nobody can sell their home without legal authority. That means a registered Lasting Power of Attorney (Property & Financial Affairs), or — if there’s no LPA — an application to the Court of Protection for a deputyship, which takes months. If you’re helping a parent, sort the LPA early, while they still have capacity; without it, a sale or a Deferred Payment Agreement can’t proceed.

Your options for the home

Once you understand the means test, there are usually several ways forward — selling is only one of them.

Option How it works Best when
Keep it (disregard applies) The home is ignored in the means test because a partner or qualifying relative lives there. Someone eligible still lives in the home.
Deferred Payment Agreement The council lends against the home; repaid later, so no sale during the person’s lifetime. You’d rather not sell now, or want to wait for a better market.
Rent it out Rental income helps cover fees or a DPA; the home is kept. The home is lettable and you want to retain it.
Sell Release the capital to fund fees; stops the running costs of an empty home. A confirmed self-funder, or an empty home draining money.

If selling is the right move, how can Springbok help?

We won’t tell you to sell if a disregard, a Deferred Payment Agreement or NHS funding means you don’t have to — get the assessment and independent advice first. But when a sale genuinely is the right step — a confirmed self-funder needing to release capital, an empty property clocking up council tax, insurance and maintenance, or an attorney or executor handling the home — a fast, fee-free sale can lift a real weight:

Route What it’s for Price Speed
Fixed Price™ Protect the estate — we market the home to achieve the most, fee-free. Up to 95% of market value 4–8 weeks
Cash Sale™ Speed and certainty — stop an empty home draining money. ~80% of market value 7–28 days
Fast Cash™ Release funds quickly where fees are mounting. Cash advance in days Days

We buy with our own funds (no chain, no viewings to arrange during a hard time), we cover the legal costs, we can deal discreetly with an attorney, deputy or executor, and there’s never any obligation. If keeping the home is better for your family, we’ll say so. See also our guides on selling an inherited property and how genuine cash buyers work.

Paying for care: key terms

Financial assessment (means test)
The council’s assessment of someone’s capital and income to decide how much they pay towards care, under the Care Act 2014.
Self-funder
Someone with capital above £23,250 who pays the full cost of their care.
Capital limits
The £14,250 (lower) and £23,250 (upper) thresholds that determine the contribution in England.
Property disregard
A rule that means the home’s value is ignored in the means test — for example when a partner or qualifying relative still lives there.
12-week property disregard
The council must ignore the home’s value for the first 12 weeks of a permanent care stay.
Deferred Payment Agreement (DPA)
A council loan secured on the home so it needn’t be sold in the person’s lifetime; repaid later with interest and a fee.
NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)
Free, fully NHS-funded care for people whose needs are primarily health related; not means-tested.
NHS-funded Nursing Care (FNC)
A flat weekly NHS payment towards nursing costs where someone needs nursing care but not full CHC.
Deprivation of assets
Deliberately reducing assets (e.g. giving away the home) to avoid care fees; councils can treat the asset as still owned, with no time limit on the look-back.
Lasting Power of Attorney
A legal authority letting someone manage another’s property and finances — needed to sell the home if the owner lacks capacity.