Housing · England
Getting support in your own home
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You can ask for help to live in your own home.
This guide is for adults in England.
Say where you want to live
Tell the council where and how you want to live.
Explain what matters to you about your home.
Ask adult social care for a needs assessment.
This looks at the help you need.
The assessment is free.
Explain the help you need during the day and at night.
Include times when things are harder.
Help to explain your needs
Ask for information and meetings you can understand.
Use the way of communicating that works for you.
You may be entitled to an independent advocate.
An advocate helps you understand choices and have your views heard.
Plan support in your home
Ask what support could come to your home.
Ask who will help and when.
Equipment or changes to your home may help.
Ask for an assessment if you need these.
Family members do not have to provide unlimited care.
Tell the council what help they can and cannot give.
Funding and decisions
Ask who will pay for your support.
You may need a separate check of your money.
Ask for a written support plan you can understand.
Check that it includes the help you need.
Ask for reasons if the council refuses your preferred support.
You can ask for a review and get advice.
Tell someone if you are left without important care.
Ask for urgent help if you are unsafe.
What you can do next
The NHS guide explains different kinds of homecare.
Ask someone you choose to help you explore the options.
Read about help at home Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- NHS: getting a needs assessment Web page
How to ask for an assessment and prepare for it.
- NHS: help at home Web page
Practical homecare options and questions about providers.
- NHS: personal budgets and direct payments Web page
Ways to arrange and manage agreed care support.
- Find your local council Web pageFuller information
Ask for adult social care and explain any urgent needs.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Requesting care and support in your own home
Ask for an assessment, explain the life you want at home and compare practical support and funding options.
Adults aged 18 and over · England · Care and housing decisions
Start with where and how you want to live
Tell adult social care that you want to remain in your home, return home or explore a home of your own. Explain what makes that important: familiar people, routines, community, pets, relationships or sensory needs. Support can sometimes be arranged in an ordinary rented or owned home, with family or in supported living. The right arrangement depends on your needs and realistic options.
Ask for a care needs assessment
The council must assess where it appears an adult may have care and support needs. A diagnosis, existing care package or low income is not a prerequisite. Assessment is free and should consider all relevant needs, your wellbeing and the outcomes you want. It is separate from deciding eligibility and any financial contribution. Ask how long it will take and tell the council about urgent unmet needs.
Describe a whole day and night
Explain help with communication, meals, washing, dressing, toileting, medication, money, relationships, work and going out. Include supervision or reassurance, fluctuating needs, overnight support and what happens without help. Keep a short diary if useful. Describe difficult days as well as better days. An assessment should not assume that a task is manageable merely because someone currently struggles through it.
Make the assessment accessible
Ask for clear questions, information in advance, pictures, communication aids, breaks or a familiar person. Explain how you show agreement, pain, distress or uncertainty. If you would have substantial difficulty taking part and have no appropriate person to support you, the council must arrange independent Care Act advocacy. Needing support to participate does not automatically mean you lack capacity.
Compare practical ways to provide support
Options can include visiting carers, a personal assistant, support at particular activities, live-in care, overnight support or a combination. Ask who will provide each task, when, for how long and what happens if a worker is absent. Check whether staff have the necessary skills. Live-in care does not automatically mean one worker can provide continuous awake care throughout every day and night.
Look at your home and equipment
Ask for an occupational therapy or home assessment where layout, access, transfers or equipment cause difficulty. Adaptations, mobility aids, technology or changes to routines may help, but should be suitable for you. Discuss privacy and consent before monitoring technology is installed. Equipment must not be assumed to replace human support that remains necessary. Larger adaptations can involve separate grant and landlord-permission rules.
Be clear about family and carers
Assess your needs even when relatives currently help. Planning should identify what a carer is willing and able to continue doing; living nearby or sharing a home is not agreement to provide unlimited unpaid care. Carers can ask for their own assessment and breaks. Record a backup plan for illness, exhaustion or a change in family circumstances.
Understand the support plan and budget
If the council is meeting needs, ask for a written care and support plan, eligible outcomes, personal budget and any charges. Discuss council-arranged care, a managed budget, direct payments or a mixture. Direct payments have conditions and must be used for agreed outcomes. Employing a personal assistant brings responsibilities, so ask about payroll, recruitment, insurance and practical support before committing.
Consider health funding as well
Ask whether NHS services, including community nursing or therapies, should contribute. NHS continuing healthcare is based on assessed needs rather than diagnosis and can be provided at home where agreed. It is not means-tested. Eligibility does not guarantee any requested provider or unlimited hours. The NHS should involve you in planning and consider suitable options, preferences and value for money.
Question an unsuitable offer
Ask how the proposed package will meet each assessed need. Councils can consider resources and lawful alternatives, but should not use an arbitrary budget ceiling to force a care-home move. There is no automatic entitlement to any particular home-care arrangement. Request the reasons, calculations and alternatives in writing, including why your proposed option was rejected and how its risks could be reduced.
Review, complain or seek urgent help
Request a review if support is missing, unsuitable or your circumstances change. Use the council complaint route and, where appropriate, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Seek community-care legal advice promptly if essential support is being withdrawn or a disputed move is imminent; a complaint does not pause a decision. Raise neglect through safeguarding, and call 999 for immediate danger.
Words you could use
“I want support in my own home. Please assess my needs, record my wishes and explain the home-support options, budget and reasons for any refusal.”
More useful links
- NHS: getting a needs assessment Web page
How to ask for an assessment and prepare for it.
- NHS: help at home Web page
Practical homecare options and questions about providers.
- NHS: personal budgets and direct payments Web page
Ways to arrange and manage agreed care support.
- Find your local council Web pageFuller information
Ask for adult social care and explain any urgent needs.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 1 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- Care Act 2014, section 9 Web page
The assessment duty, wishes and financial circumstances.
- NHS: needs assessment Web page
Assessment preparation, eligibility and next steps.
- Care Act 2014, section 67 Web page
Independent advocacy when the statutory conditions are met.
- NHS: help at home Web page
Homecare arrangements and funding.
- NHS: home adaptations Web page
Home assessments, equipment and adaptations.
- Care and support statutory guidance Web pageFuller information
Carer willingness, person-centred planning and lawful budget-setting.
- NHS: personal budgets and direct payments Web page
Budget-management choices and responsibilities.
- NHS: continuing healthcare Web page
Eligibility, home support and care planning.
- NHS: care and support plans Web page
Plans and requests for review.
- Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Web page
Complaints about adult social care.