Common questions about live-in care

From £1,095 a week. The weekly payment covers your carers’ pay and our service. You provide your carer’s food and a separate bedroom. See what's included.

Your carers' pay, passed on every week, and ongoing access to the Homestay Carers service: our register of vetted carers, a new introduction whenever you ask for one, weekly payments to your carer, and someone to call with questions about the service.

You provide your carers with a separate bedroom and food, or a food allowance. There's no entry fee and no exit fee.

Yes, a £245 advance when you decide to go ahead and we start searching for your carers. It's not an extra fee: we take it off your first weekly invoice. The first call and the home visit are free. If we can’t find suitable carers to introduce to you, we refund it in full. If we introduce suitable carers and you decide not to go ahead with any of them, it isn't refunded.

Most families pay privately, but some get help from their local council, NHS Continuing Healthcare or Attendance Allowance. See who qualifies, or ask us on a call.

Give us two weeks’ notice. No exit fee.

Weekly, in advance, by direct debit.

If the person receiving care has a significant stay in hospital, the carer leaves and your weekly payments stop.

Yes: for one person, by around £650 to £850 a week; for a couple who both need care, by more than half. Live-in care with us starts at £1,095 a week. Nursing homes in our six counties typically cost from £1,750 to £1,950 a week per person, so two places for a couple cost £3,500 to £3,900. For a couple, it's from £1,445 a week if you both need care, or from £1,260 if only one of you does and your partner just needs help with meals and housekeeping. Care home fees include food and bills, which you'd still pay at home. See the full comparison.

Visits work well when someone needs help at set times. When they need more than about four hours a day, or someone there overnight, live-in care usually costs about the same or less: home care agencies in our area charge around £37 for a one-hour visit, so four hours a day is about £1,035 a week, with nobody there at night. Live-in care starts at £1,095 a week. See the comparison.

Not because of live-in care. When care is given at home, the council doesn't count the value of your home when it works out what you pay. In a care home it usually does, after the first 12 weeks, unless a partner or a relative aged 60 or over still lives there, which is why many families end up selling. Everyone's situation is different, so check yours with your council or an independent adviser. Read more.

A managed agency employs carers, directs their work and is registered with the CQC. An introductory agency like ours finds and vets self-employed carers and introduces them to you. You choose your carer and agree the daily routine directly with them. It also means fewer new faces: in CQC-registered home care agencies, nearly three in ten care workers leave each year (Skills for Care, 2025), while your carers have chosen your placement, as you chose them.

Online platforms let you browse profiles and arrange care yourself, and they suit some families well. We work differently: we visit you at home first, we meet every carer personally after the background checks, and we introduce a few carers matched to you, with why we think each one fits. You still choose. You get two carers who share the role from the start, one fixed weekly price, and someone to call who knows your family. See the comparison.

Fully managed live-in agencies in the South East typically charge from £1,675 a week (published prices, September 2026). Ours starts at £1,095. Your carers are self-employed and you manage them directly, so you aren't paying for an agency's employment costs, care coordinators or supervision visits. The trade-off is that you agree the day-to-day care with your carers yourself. See how the costs compare.

We're what the CQC refers to as an introductory agency, not a traditional domiciliary care agency. CQC guidance says an introductory agency does not need to register when it has no ongoing role directing or controlling personal care after an introduction. We do not employ carers, manage care plans, arrange rotas or direct care. We vet and interview every carer before introducing them, and you agree day-to-day care directly with your carers. CQC guidance allows introductory agencies to check satisfaction with the introduction service and to make further introductions when a family asks; it does not allow us to monitor or direct the care itself. Read more about our model.

Carers are self-employed, and you manage them directly.

One named contact. From your first call and the home visit to the day your carers move in, you deal with the same person, not a call centre or a rota of staff. And they're still your contact if you ever need a new introduction.

No. We only take on families we're confident we can find the right carers for. If live-in care through us isn't the right fit, for example because care needs nursing or two people at once, or we can't find the right carers in your area, we'll tell you honestly at the start and suggest where else to look.

Every carer has an enhanced DBS check with the Adults' Barred List, right-to-work and identity checks, and two professional references and one personal reference, all followed up. We check their insurance, and we meet every carer personally before we introduce them. Every carer must be signed up to the DBS Update Service, and we check their DBS status and insurance annually.

Yes. Carers on our register are self-employed, so their insurance is their own responsibility, but we check it. Every carer must hold public liability insurance, and carers who use their own car for errands and appointments must also carry appropriate car insurance. We check both are in place before introducing them, and then annually.

Yes. You can speak to carers by phone or video, or meet them in person, before you decide.

Tell us, and we'll introduce other carers for you to meet.

Carers on our register don't give nursing or clinical care, such as injections, insulin or tube feeding. They can remind someone to take their medication and help them take it, as agreed with the family.

Yes, as long as one carer can safely support you both. If you both need care, it's from £1,445 a week. If only one of you needs care and your partner just needs help with meals and housekeeping, it's £1,260 a week. Two nursing home places in our counties typically cost from £3,500 to £3,900 a week, so for a couple who both need care, live-in care costs less than half as much. And you stay together at home, in your own bedroom: not every care home can offer couples a room together. See the comparison.

Many carers do drive, and this can be part of what we look for when matching carers to your needs. Carers who use their own car carry appropriate car insurance. Tell us on the call if you'd like a carer who drives, or one who's happy with pets.