Rights & choices · England
Restrictions at home or in supported living
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This guide is for adults in England.
You can ask for help to question restrictions on your freedom.
Your home
You might live in your own home or with your family.
You might live in supported living.
Supported living means getting help in your home.
Restrictions on your freedom
Staff might stop you going out when you want.
They might control who visits you.
Ask why this happens.
Some care arrangements can take away your freedom.
The law calls this deprivation of liberty.
Not every restriction meets the legal test.
An assessment must look at your own situation.
What does community DoLS mean?
People sometimes call this community DoLS.
The court checks care arrangements that take away your freedom at home.
The rules differ from DoLS in hospitals and care homes.
Help to make decisions
You should get help to make your own decisions.
People should explain things in a way you understand.
You can communicate without speaking.
If someone must decide for you, your wishes still matter.
They must consider ways to give you more freedom.
A care plan alone does not give permission to take away your freedom.
Court permission
The Court of Protection can give legal permission for particular care arrangements.
The written decision is called a court order.
Ask your social worker if you have one.
Asking the court is not the same as getting permission.
Your wishes matter
Tell someone what you like and what you want to change.
Being quiet does not automatically mean you agree.
Tell someone if the arrangements upset you.
Someone to help you speak up
The court must consider how your views will be heard.
It can appoint someone to help.
Ask who this person is and how to contact them.
You might hear the name Rule 1.2 representative.
This person helps the court understand your views.
This is a different legal role from a Relevant Person’s Representative.
A Relevant Person’s Representative is often called an RPR.
An RPR supports someone under hospital or care-home DoLS.
Ask for your court order
Ask for a copy and help to understand it.
Ask what it allows and when it ends.
It does not let staff control everything you do.
Ask for a review
A review means checking the arrangements again.
Ask when your court order will be reviewed.
Tell your representative if things change or you disagree.
You can ask for help before the review date.
If you need more help
A solicitor gives legal advice.
Ask for one who deals with the Court of Protection.
They can explain how to question a court order.
Ask about help with legal costs.
If there is no court order, ask what legal permission applies.
You can ask the council’s adult social care team for help.
Tell someone if you are being harmed.
Call 999 if you are in immediate danger.
What you can do next
Ask adult social care about community DoLS.
Ask who can explain your court order and help you question it.
Find your local council Web pageFuller informationThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- GOV.UK: deprivation of liberty court orders Web page
Explains court authorisation outside care homes and hospitals. This is detailed information.
- Government guidance after the June 2026 judgment Web page
Explains the current approach to restrictions and consent. You may want help to read it.
- Court of Protection: application form COPDOL11 Web pagePDF
The form and evidence for a streamlined application. Get advice about the right procedure for your case.
- Find your local council Web pageFuller information
Ask adult social care who deals with community deprivation of liberty.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Community deprivation of liberty (community DoLS)
Understand court permission for restrictions at home, who can help you speak up and how to ask for a review.
Adults in England · separate advice is needed for children and young people
What people mean by community DoLS
People sometimes say “community DoLS” when care arrangements outside a hospital or care home deprive someone of liberty. This can concern supported living, Shared Lives, a family home or the person’s own home. For an adult who lacks the relevant capacity, the usual route is a Court of Protection order. The council’s administrative DoLS scheme applies to hospitals and care homes, not these community settings. Having a tenancy does not settle whether restrictions are lawful.
Assess the whole situation using current law
The Supreme Court changed the legal approach on 2 June 2026. An individual assessment must consider the whole situation, including the kind, duration, effects and implementation of restrictions. Continuous supervision and freedom to leave are relevant, but are no longer a single decisive test. For this liberty question, consent is not identical to Mental Capacity Act capacity: the person’s awareness, understanding and expressed wishes matter. Compliance alone is not consent. If there is serious doubt, valid consent must not be assumed; seek review or specialist advice. Not every restriction is a deprivation of liberty, but other rights still matter.
Capacity and best interests still matter
Help the person understand and communicate before assessing capacity for the particular decision at that time. A learning disability, inability to speak or an unwise choice does not establish incapacity. If the person cannot make the decision, the decision-maker must involve them, consider their wishes, consult appropriate people and consider less restrictive options. These requirements continue alongside the liberty assessment. A best-interests meeting, care plan, family agreement or attorney’s approval cannot by itself authorise deprivation of liberty.
Ask who is arranging the application
Ask the council or NHS body responsible for the care arrangements who will deal with any court application. Ask for the named worker, the proposed arrangements and the timescale. If care is privately arranged, raise possible deprivation of liberty with the council and seek specialist advice. An application being submitted or waiting in a queue is not a court order. Ask what lawful authority applies in the meantime and whether an urgent application is needed.
The application and any disagreement
A streamlined application using COPDOL11 is usually used for straightforward cases. The court needs evidence about capacity, care, best interests, consultation and the person’s views. Objections, disputes or concerns must be disclosed; the judge decides whether a hearing or different procedure is needed. Wider disputes about care or where the person should live may need a personal welfare application. The published form contains older legal wording: use it alongside the current deprivation-of-liberty guidance.
How you take part and who represents you
The court must consider how your views will be heard. It can appoint a Rule 1.2 representative, sometimes a suitable relative, friend or advocate, with duties set by the court. A litigation friend or accredited legal representative has a different role. A relative is not automatically appointed, and any conflict of interest needs attention. Ask for the representative’s name, contact details and appointment terms. If nobody can fulfil the role, tell the court through the worker or solicitor handling the case.
How this differs from an RPR
A Relevant Person’s Representative, or RPR, is appointed under the hospital and care-home DoLS scheme after a standard authorisation. A community court order does not automatically give you that statutory RPR role or the same DoLS IMCA entitlement. The court makes arrangements for participation and representation. Someone who also works as a paid RPR may take a court-appointed role, but the legal basis and duties are different. Ask which role the person holds in your case.
Keeping your wishes before the court
A representative needs to follow their appointment terms and keep your views before the court. In community cases this may include contact with you, checking how the care plan works, reporting concerns and seeking an earlier review. Ask how often you will be contacted and how to reach them between visits. Explain communication needs and any distress or attempts to leave. Tell the worker or solicitor if your representative is unavailable, is not listening or has a conflict of interest.
Get the order and understand its limits
Ask for a copy of the court order and an explanation you can understand. Check which arrangements it covers, any conditions, its end date, the review date and who must act. Also ask for the care plan and relevant assessments. Court permission for particular arrangements does not give staff unlimited control over your life. Treatment, restraint and other decisions still need an appropriate legal basis. Ask whether a change in arrangements needs to be brought back to the court.
Ask for review or challenge
The court order sets the review arrangements. The streamlined form provides for court review at least annually, and sooner if needed. Tell your representative, responsible worker and solicitor promptly about objections, changed needs or restrictions going beyond the order. Ask how to request an earlier court review; do not wait for the routine date if urgent help is needed. A community court order has its own review or challenge route. Section 21A is the route for challenging a hospital or care-home DoLS authorisation. A service complaint does not replace a court application.
If there is no order or urgent help is needed
Ask a solicitor with Court of Protection experience to check missing or expired authority, serious disagreement or urgent risks. The court has urgent and interim procedures. Ask about legal aid and costs for the particular case. Court staff can explain procedures, but cannot give legal advice. Raise suspected abuse or neglect with the council’s safeguarding team. Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger.
Children and young people need the right route
This guide focuses on adults. The Court of Protection can deal with relevant cases from age 16, while the hospital and care-home DoLS scheme starts at 18. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds need specialist advice about their arrangements; safeguards do not wait until their eighteenth birthday. Different court powers may apply to younger children. Do not assume a parent’s agreement alone answers the legal question.
Words you could use
“Please explain the legal authority for these restrictions. I would like the court order, my representative’s contact details, and help to ask for a review.”
More useful links
- GOV.UK: deprivation of liberty court orders Web page
Explains court authorisation outside care homes and hospitals. This is detailed information.
- Government guidance after the June 2026 judgment Web page
Explains the current approach to restrictions and consent. You may want help to read it.
- Court of Protection: application form COPDOL11 Web pagePDF
The form and evidence for a streamlined application. Get advice about the right procedure for your case.
- Find your local council Web pageFuller information
Ask adult social care who deals with community deprivation of liberty.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 5 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- HMCTS: deprivation of liberty orders Web page
The community court route and cases involving wider welfare decisions.
- DHSC: current deprivation-of-liberty guidance Web page
September 2026 guidance on the changed legal approach and continuing safeguards.
- NHS: Mental Capacity Act Web pageFuller information
Support to decide, individual capacity and best interests.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 4A Web page
Court authority for deprivation of liberty, rather than relying on a best-interests decision alone.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005, Schedule A1 Web page
Hospital and care-home DoLS and the statutory RPR role.
- Court of Protection: COPDOL11 form Web page
Community settings, evidence, objections, representation and review. Read older legal wording with current guidance.
- Court of Protection: Practice Direction 11A PDF
Streamlined procedure, duration, review, reconsideration and sharing the order.
- Court of Protection: Practice Direction 1A PDF
Participation and the different arrangements for representation.
- Court of Protection: Practice Direction 17B PDF
Appointment, directions and replacement of Rule 1.2 representatives.
- Court of Protection: Practice Direction 10B PDF
Urgent and interim applications.
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