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If you are a local authority-funded care home resident, let us help explain what rights you have, with regard to choosing which home you live in.
Our information and advice is relevant to residents who will fund their own care to start with, but may need local authority assistance with the fees later.
Government guidance on choice of care home accommodation represents one of the few examples of genuine choice in residential social care provision.
If you have a preference for a particular care home, the local authority should arrange accommodation in that home, subject to the following conditions:
Local authorities have a responsibility to provide a range of accommodation to meet identified needs at their ‘usual cost’.
If you would prefer to live in a care home that costs more than the local authority’s usual cost, the local authority can arrange this, provided that another person is willing to meet the difference between the usual cost and the actual level of the home’s fees.
This is usually known as a top-up or third-party payment. You should not be asked to find a third party to make a top-up payment, if you have moved into a more expensive home out of necessity, rather than personal preference.
For more detailed information on choosing accommodation, download our factsheet below.
This factsheet should be read in conjunction with Age UK’s other factsheets on social care assessment services and care home funding.
Download the Choice of accommodation (FS60) factsheet (PDF 691 KB)
Download our Care homes guide (PDF 645 KB)
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Our factsheet explains what rights local authority-funded care home residents have to choose which home they live in.
Our introduction to care homes will help you decide if it is the right choice for you, and explains the help available with payments and how to choose a home.
Factsheet detailing people's rights to an assessment and service provision
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