Living on your own or with people you choose — Easy Read

Start with the life you want

You might want your own home, to share with friends or a partner, or to stay with family. Explain who and what you want nearby, and what makes a place feel like home. Your wishes matter even if you need a lot of support or do not use speech. Care Act wellbeing includes control over everyday life, relationships and suitable accommodation. Ask for your own views to be recorded, separately from what other people would prefer.

Living on your own with support

Living alone does not have to mean managing everything without help. Explore visits, longer periods of support or overnight help according to your assessed needs. Ask how you would get help if you were ill, frightened or unable to use a phone. Plan opportunities to see friends and take part in your community. CQC’s guidance recognises living alone with suitable support as an option; a learning disability is not, by itself, a reason to assume that you must share.

Living with people you choose

Ask to be involved in choosing how many people you share with and who they are. You may want to explore living with someone you already know. The other person must have a voice too: wanting to live with someone does not mean they have to agree. Discuss how each person’s housing and support will be arranged. A vacancy in a shared home does not, by itself, show that the home is suitable for you.

Get to know possible housemates

Ask for opportunities to meet without pressure to agree immediately. You might first meet somewhere comfortable, then visit the home. Discuss noise, sleep, food, pets, smoking, visitors, shared rooms and what happens when people disagree. Think about what each person enjoys and needs. Ask how you can give private feedback, including through pictures, signs or someone you trust. Do not ask for another person’s private health records; ask how the proposed arrangement can work for everyone.

Keep your own life in a shared home

Sharing an address does not mean you must share every meal, outing or bedtime. Ask about your private space, visitors, relationships, keys and using communal rooms. Agree fair arrangements for shared spaces without turning staff routines into blanket house rules. CQC expects privacy and a say in who shares the home. If a housemate leaves, ask how you will be involved before someone new moves in. The landlord’s responsibilities and each person’s housing rights also matter.

Ask for an individual assessment and plan

Ask adult social care for a needs assessment, or a review if you already receive support. Explain the outcome you want, such as living alone while staying near family. Bring examples of what help you need during an ordinary day and night. Ask how equipment, accessible housing, communication support and staff would work together. Your plan should show the needs the council will meet and how. You must be involved, and the council must take reasonable steps to agree the plan with you.

Check shared staffing and overnight support

Ask which support is yours, which is shared and what happens when two people need help at once. Can you go out when you choose, or would another person lose their support? Is night staff awake, asleep on site or only available by phone? Who responds if staff are absent? Record the actual arrangement and why it meets your needs. Do not assume that a housemate, partner or relative has agreed to provide unpaid care. Ask each person what help they are willing and able to give.

Understand the funding and housing choices

Ask for realistic options and separate figures for rent, bills, service charges and care. A care budget is not automatically a housing budget. Benefits, tenancy conditions, available properties and your assessed contribution may affect what is possible. Council decisions must consider your individual needs and wellbeing; choice does not guarantee any property or any level of spending. If an option is rejected, ask for the reasons, cost comparison and an explanation of how the offered alternative would meet your needs.

Keep housing and support agreements clear

In supported living, the housing agreement and care arrangements should be separate. Ask who your landlord would be and who would provide support. Check what happens if you or a housemate want a different provider. Use the supported-living tenancy guide for the detailed questions. Get housing advice before signing, ending or surrendering a tenancy: sharing a home and sharing a care provider are different decisions, and the actual contracts need checking.

Support to make and express your decision

Ask for accessible information, visits, extra time and your usual communication support. Capacity concerns must relate to the particular decision; needing help or making a choice others dislike does not itself mean you cannot decide. If you lack capacity for a relevant decision, a lawful best-interests process must consider your wishes, feelings, beliefs and participation. Relatives or staff do not automatically have authority to decide or sign a tenancy for you. Separate housing, money and care decisions may need different legal authority.

Get independent help when you need it

An advocate can help you express what you want and understand the options. Under the Care Act, the council must arrange independent advocacy for relevant assessment and planning processes if you have substantial difficulty being involved and there is no appropriate person to support you, subject to the statutory rules. A paid care worker is not the appropriate unpaid representative for this test. Tell the council if your supporter has a conflict of interest or is speaking over you. Ask for its advocacy decision and reasons.

Make a plan and challenge unsuitable proposals

Ask for agreed visits, a moving plan, safe interim support and a review after any change. Keep a record of what you wanted, the options considered and any disagreement. You can ask for a care review and use the council’s complaints process. If you are being pressured to leave, face homelessness or essential support may stop, get urgent housing or community-care legal advice. A complaint does not automatically pause a move or extend a court deadline.

Who I want to live with

Tell people what you want

Your own home

Sharing with other people

Meet first

Your own space and choices

Plan your support

Check the money

Understand the agreements

Help with decisions

Your wishes still matter

An advocate may help

Ask about other options

Plan any move

What you can do next

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