Paying for home care in West London: who pays, and what you keep

Anyone who appears to need care at home has the right to a free needs assessment from their council, whatever their savings. If the needs are eligible, a separate financial assessment works out what, if anything, the person pays; in 2026/27 the standard upper capital limit is £23,250, and the home they live in is not counted.

Two assessments, and how they fit together

Under the Care Act 2014 the council must assess any adult who appears to need care and support, free and whatever their finances. Money is looked at separately, in a financial assessment, where the council intends to charge. Families often skip the needs assessment because they assume their relative has too much saved. Ask anyway. It can also lead to support the council provides free, such as reablement for up to six weeks after a hospital stay, and if you care for your relative you can ask for a carer’s assessment of your own.

• Ask for a needs assessment

  Call or use the online form for your borough (contacts below). You can ask on a relative’s behalf, and the council must give a written record of its decision.

• The financial assessment

  A form or a conversation about capital (savings, investments and other assets) and income. Only the person needing care is assessed, so a partner’s own income is not counted. Their share of joint savings is, usually as an equal share unless there is evidence of a different split. You get a written record. After a light-touch assessment you can ask for a full one, and you should tell the council if circumstances change.

• The weekly contribution

  The council adds up income, including the assumed income from capital, then takes off allowable housing costs such as rent and council tax, an allowance for disability-related spending it accepts, and the Minimum Income Guarantee. What is left is the most the person pays each week, and never more than the care costs.

• Choose how the care is arranged

  The council can arrange it, or pay the money as a direct payment so the person can arrange it themselves (see below).

What counts, and what is left alone

For care at home, the value of the house the person lives in is disregarded entirely. So are earnings from a job, the mobility part of PIP or Disability Living Allowance, and the savings credit part of Pension Credit (up to £7.30 a week for a single person). Councils may set a higher capital limit than £23,250 if they choose; none of our five boroughs does.

Attendance Allowance and the daily living part of PIP are different. They are not on the national list of income a council must ignore, so the council may count them. If it does, the guidance requires it to allow for necessary disability-related spending on needs it is not meeting: a community alarm, extra heating, laundry, help with cleaning or the garden, care the person pays for privately. Keep the receipts and make sure the assessor sees them.

Direct payment or council-arranged care?

A direct payment is the council’s money for the care in a person’s support plan, paid so the care can be arranged directly. A person who has capacity must ask for it or agree to it, and the council must be satisfied that they can manage it (with help if needed) and that it is an appropriate way to meet their needs. Where the person lacks capacity, someone authorised, often a family member, can ask to receive and manage it for them if the council agrees they are suitable.

A direct payment can buy care from a regulated home care provider that can meet the support plan within the agreed budget. Managing the money is different from being paid to give care: a direct payment cannot pay a spouse or partner, or a close relative who lives in the same household, unless the council decides that is necessary. A daughter who lives round the corner is outside that rule; a son who lives upstairs is inside it.

Two benefits to claim whether or not you buy care

Attendance Allowance is for people who have reached State Pension age and need help with personal care or supervision because of an illness or disability, normally for at least six months (there is a faster route for people nearing the end of life). It is £76.70 or £114.60 a week and is not means-tested, so savings do not affect it. Call 0800 731 0122 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) for a claim form or help, or claim on GOV.UK.

Pension Credit Guarantee Credit tops weekly income up to a basic £238 for a single person and £363.25 for a couple, with extra amounts for some people, such as those with a severe disability or caring for someone. Claim on 0800 99 1234. Both benefits can count as income in the care means test and may change the weekly contribution, while the Minimum Income Guarantee and the disability-related spending allowance still apply. Our winter money guide covers both.

How to ask in your borough

The routes below were checked against each council’s website on 9 November 2026. None of the five councils publishes a single hourly rate for council-arranged home care, so do not expect one.

What the Marigold Home Care team adds

We are not financial advisers, and we never tell a family whether the council will pay: that is the council’s decision. What we can help with is the practical question that often sits beside it. What support would actually help, and what would it cost?

That is what our free home assessment is for. We visit, usually within 24 hours of your call, and work out with the person and the family what support would help and when: a morning visit, help with medicines, two hours on a Saturday so a daughter can have a break. After the assessment you get a written quote before any care begins. Our visiting care is priced from £21.96 an hour, with no extra charge at weekends or on bank holidays. If the council funds care through a direct payment, Marigold can be one of the providers you consider, as long as we can meet the support plan within the agreed budget.

If the contribution looks wrong

Start with the written record. Check what it counted as income and what it allowed for disability-related spending, then ask for a review in writing and send any receipts it has not seen. Someone given a light-touch assessment can ask for a full one. If that does not resolve it, use the council’s complaints procedure, then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (0300 061 0614, free, usually once the council’s process is finished), which looks at whether the decision was made properly.

For independent help at any stage: Age UK Advice Line 0800 678 1602 (8am to 7pm, every day), Independent Age 0800 319 6789 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm), Citizens Advice 0800 144 8848.

Questions families ask

Will Mum have to sell her house to pay for care at home?

No. For care at home the value of the home the person lives in is disregarded. It only comes into the means test for a permanent move into a care home, and even then there are exceptions.

Can the council arrange home care if we pay the full cost?

Yes. If your relative has eligible needs but capital above the limit, they can still ask the council to arrange their care at home. They would usually pay the full cost, and the council may charge a fee for arranging it.

Does my share of a joint account count?

Only the person needing care is assessed, but their share of any joint savings counts as their capital. The council usually treats it as an equal share unless there is evidence of a different split. A partner’s own income is not counted.

Can I be paid from my dad’s direct payment to care for him?

If you live in the same household, only where the council decides it is necessary. If you live elsewhere, that restriction does not apply, though the council will want the arrangement recorded in his support plan. A spouse or partner cannot be paid unless the council decides it is necessary.

Is free personal care coming?

Not yet. Free personal care has been proposed as part of a National Care Service, and the Casey Commission on adult social care is expected to report in summer 2027. Nothing has changed the 2026/27 rules above.

Facts in this guide were checked against the sources below on 9 November 2026. Charging rules and council contacts change; GOV.UK, the Care and Support Statutory Guidance and your council’s financial assessment team have the final word for any individual, and Age UK, Independent Age or Citizens Advice will check a particular case for free.