What is residential care and will I have to pay?

If you have a mental illness you may find it hard to live in your own home even with help or support. You may need to stay in residential care accommodation. This type of accommodation may be called a ‘care home’.  

You can get care all day and night if you are in a care home. There are different types of care homes to support different needs. The care home you live in may depend on things such as your age or your need.

If your local authority decides you need residential care, they may charge you if you are able to pay for these services. The local authority will do a financial assessment. This is also known as a means-test assessment. This will work out how much you will have to pay towards the cost of the care home. They will assess you as an individual. This means they won’t take your partner’s income into account. You will need to give the local authority information about the money that you have.

The local authority may use different rules if you go into the accommodation for a short time.