Avoiding Care Home Fees
You cannot fully avoid care home fees if you have assets above £23,250 — but you can reduce what you pay, claim funding many families miss, and avoid the mistakes that catch people out. The rules around what counts as your assets, when your home is included, and what the council can challenge are more nuanced than most people realise.
Last updated: March 2026
Nobody wants to see a lifetime of hard work swallowed up by care home fees. If you're reading this, you're probably trying to figure out how to protect your family home or savings, and you're not alone. It's one of the most common questions families ask.
Here's the honest truth: there are some things you can do, some things that used to work but don't anymore, and some things that will land you in serious trouble. Let's go through all of it.
How Much Are We Actually Talking?
The average care home in England costs around £800-£1,000 per week. Nursing homes are more, often £1,200+ per week. Over a year, that's £40,000 to £60,000. Over three years (roughly the average stay), you could be looking at £120,000 to £180,000.
That's why people panic. And that's why there's so much bad advice floating around online.
The Means Test: Where It All Starts
When someone needs residential care, the local authority carries out a financial assessment. The rules are straightforward:
Your home is included in that calculation in most cases, which is where things get stressful.
When Your Home IS Counted
If the person going into care owns their home and nobody else is living in it, the property counts as part of their assets. A house worth £250,000 puts you well over the £23,250 threshold, so you'd be expected to self-fund.
When Your Home ISN'T Counted
Your home is disregarded from the means test if any of these people still live there:
- Your spouse or partner
- A relative who is over 60
- A relative who is disabled or incapacitated
- A child under 18 that you're responsible for
There's also a 12-week property disregard when someone first goes into permanent care. During those 12 weeks, the home isn't counted, which gives families breathing room to sort out finances.
If none of those apply, the council may offer a deferred payment agreement, which is essentially a loan secured against the property, so it doesn't need to be sold straight away.
Things People Try (And Whether They Work)
Tenants in Common
This is one of the most talked-about strategies. Instead of owning your home as joint tenants (where the whole property passes to the survivor), you switch to tenants in common, each owning a 50% share.
The idea is that if one person goes into care, only their 50% share can be assessed, and the other person's half is protected.
Does it work? Partly. If the healthy spouse is still living in the property, the home is disregarded anyway. It gets interesting after both partners need care, or when the first person dies and leaves their share to the children. It's not bulletproof, and councils are aware of this strategy.
Putting the House in Your Children's Names
People think this is the magic fix. Give the house away, problem solved.
It really isn't that simple. If the council decides you gave away assets deliberately to avoid paying for care (known as deprivation of assets), they can assess you as if you still own them. It doesn't matter that the house is technically in someone else's name.
The tricky part is timing. If you transferred your home 15 years ago when you were fit and healthy, it's much harder for the council to argue deprivation. If you did it two years ago when your memory was already slipping, they'll see right through it.
There's no fixed time limit on how far back councils can look. The question is always about intent, not timing.
Trusts
Setting up a trust to hold assets is another route people explore. The thinking goes: if the assets are in a trust, they're not yours anymore.
Again, the deprivation of assets rules apply. If the trust was set up to avoid care fees, the council can still count those assets.
What You Can Legitimately Do
Claim everything you're entitled to
Attendance Allowance (up to £108.55/week) isn't means-tested. NHS Continuing Healthcare covers full care costs for those with primary health needs. Many people don't claim these.
Challenge the care home's fees
Homes set their own prices. You can negotiate, especially if the council rate is lower than what the home charges.
Get a proper financial assessment
Don't assume you have to pay. Some assets are disregarded, some income is protected. The rules around couples differ.
Look into NHS Funded Nursing Care
Even without full CHC, you might get the nursing element paid. It's currently £219.71 per week towards nursing fees.
Consider a deferred payment agreement
You don't have to sell the house immediately. The council puts a charge on the property and fees are repaid later.
Talk to a specialist adviser
Look for someone who's a member of the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA). This is a niche area.
The Bottom Line
There's no magic trick to completely avoid care home fees. Anyone telling you otherwise is either misinformed or trying to sell you something.
What you can do is plan ahead, understand the rules, claim everything you're entitled to, and get proper advice. The earlier you start thinking about this, the more options you have. Doing things last-minute when care is already needed is when families get caught out.
If you're just starting to look into this, a one-hour consultation with a SOLLA-registered adviser is probably the best £200 you'll ever spend.