Will I have to sell my house to pay for care in Wales?

Usually not straight away, and often not at all. In Wales your home is never counted for care at home. For a care home it is ignored in several situations: while your stay is temporary, if a partner or a qualifying relative still lives there, and for the first 12 weeks of a permanent stay. After that, a deferred payment agreement lets you put off selling for as long as you live.

In short

• Care at home: the value of the home you live in is never counted, and the most the council can charge is £100 a week in 2026/27.
• Care home: the home counts only for a permanent stay, and only if no disregard applies. The capital limit in Wales is £50,000.
• The home is ignored if it is lived in by a partner, a relative aged 60 or over, a relative who is incapacitated, or a child under 18, who has lived there since before the move.
• For a permanent move, the home is ignored for the first 12 weeks. The council helps with fees if other savings are below £50,000.
• A deferred payment agreement under section 68 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 lets fees build up as a debt secured on the home. It is repaid when the home is sold, or within 90 days of death.
• Giving the house away to avoid fees can be treated as deprivation of assets. The council can charge as if you still own it, or recover the money from the person who received it.

When does the home count?

Under the Care and Support (Financial Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2015, your home counts only if you move into a care home permanently, the first 12 weeks have passed, and no partner or qualifying relative lives there. A temporary resident (stay expected to last 52 weeks or less) keeps the home disregarded. When it counts, it is valued at market value less 10% for sale costs and any mortgage. If that plus your other capital reaches £50,000, you pay the full fee. Our hub guide to paying for care in Wales covers the full means test.

The property disregards in detail

A partner still lives there

If a husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner lives there as their main home, it is ignored for as long as they do. An estranged or divorced partner counts only if they are a lone parent with a dependent child.

A relative aged 60 or over, or incapacitated

Schedule 2 of the regulations disregards the home if a “qualifying relative” lives there as their main or only home: a family member or relative aged 60 or over or incapacitated, or a child under 18, normally since before the move into care. A 62-year-old daughter who moved in to care for her mother protects the house. A healthy 45-year-old son does not. If a relative moves in later, the council can still choose to disregard it.

Discretion for other cases

Councils can also ignore a home lived in by someone else where reasonable, such as a carer who gave up their own home. Ask in writing, with evidence.

The 12-week property disregard

When someone first moves into a care home permanently, the value of their home is ignored for 12 weeks. If their other capital is below £50,000, the council helps with fees during those weeks while the family decides what to do.

Worked example: Eira in Wrexham

• Eira’s house is worth £210,000. She has £22,000 in savings and lives alone. She moves permanently into a care home that charges £1,000 a week.
• Weeks 1 to 12: the house is ignored and her £22,000 is below £50,000. The council pays its agreed rate. Eira pays from her income and keeps £46.35 a week.
• From week 13: the house counts. £210,000 less 10% is £189,000, plus £22,000, which gives £211,000. That is well over £50,000, so Eira is now a self-funder.
• She can sell the house, rent it out, or ask for a deferred payment agreement.

Deferred payment agreements in Wales

A deferred payment agreement (DPA) is a loan from the council, secured against the home. The council pays the care home, and the amount owed builds up as a debt. It is repaid on whichever comes first: the sale of the home, or 90 days after death, unless the council allows longer. The rules are in the Care and Support (Deferred Payment) (Wales) Regulations 2015.

Who qualifies

• You need permanent care in a care home, and the home counts as capital (no disregard applies).
• Your capital other than the home must not be more than £50,000.
• Your weekly income is not enough to pay the full fee.
• The council needs adequate security. This is normally a first legal charge on the property registered with the Land Registry. If there is a mortgage or a co-owner, ask the council what it can accept.
• You must be able to agree to it, or have an attorney or deputy who can sign for you.

Costs and interest

Councils can charge compound interest. The maximum rate is the gilt rate published by the Office for Budget Responsibility plus 0.15%, reset every January and July. Cardiff, for example, charged 4.85% for January to June 2026, plus set-up and annual fees. Some councils charge less: Rhondda Cynon Taf’s scheme leaflet says it does not currently charge interest or fees on the deferred debt. Ask your council for its current terms in writing. You still pay what you can from your income each week. Only the shortfall is deferred.

A DPA can be combined with renting out the home, which brings in income to pay the fees and slows the growth of the debt. See our general guide to deferred payment agreements.

Jointly owned homes

If the home is jointly owned, only the resident’s own share is counted, valued at what a buyer would pay for that share alone. A half share of a house where the co-owner lives, and has no intention of selling, has a low market value, sometimes close to nothing. If the co-owner is a partner or a qualifying relative, the whole home is ignored anyway. For more on shares and valuation, see jointly owned property and care home fees (written for England, but the valuation principles are the same).

Can you give the house away to avoid selling it?

The Welsh regulations treat someone as still owning capital they have “deprived themselves of” in order to reduce care charges. This is called notional capital. Section 72 of the 2014 Act also lets the council recover the charges from the person who received the asset, up to the benefit they got.

• There is no fixed time limit. The seven-year rule applies to Inheritance Tax only. The council looks at timing and purpose: was avoiding care charges a significant reason, and could care needs have been foreseen?
• Transfers made years earlier, when the person was well and had no reason to expect care, are much harder for the council to challenge.
• Putting the home into a trust is treated in the same way if the purpose was to avoid fees.

Our guides to deprivation of assets and the seven-year rule myth explain how councils decide these cases.

Options other than selling

• Check NHS funding first. If the person qualifies for Continuing NHS Healthcare under the Welsh national framework, the health board pays the full fee. There is no means test and the house does not matter.
• Use the 12 weeks. Get the home valued, get legal advice and make a plan before week 13.
• Rent the home out. The rent counts as income towards fees, and a DPA can cover the shortfall.
• Stay at home with care. At home, the house is never counted and the most the council can charge is £100 a week. For many families this is a real alternative to selling. See home care vs care home.
• Get power of attorney sorted. Lasting Powers of Attorney apply in Wales as in England. Without one, a DPA or a sale may need a Court of Protection deputy, which takes months. See LPA or deputyship.

Our funding checker gives a quick read on which help might apply.

Frequently asked questions

Will the council take my house to pay for care in Wales?

The council cannot take your house. If you move permanently into a care home and no disregard applies, the home counts towards the £50,000 capital limit after 12 weeks. You can then sell it, or use a deferred payment agreement, where the fees are repaid when the home is sold or within 90 days of death.

Is my house counted if I get care at home in Wales?

No. The value of the home you live in is never counted for care at home, day services or direct payments. Other capital over £24,000 means you pay the full cost of council-arranged care, but never more than the £100 weekly maximum charge in 2026/27.

Does the house count if my wife still lives there?

No. If your spouse, civil partner or partner lives in the home as their main home, its value is ignored for as long as they live there. The same applies to a relative aged 60 or over, or one who is incapacitated, who lived there before you moved into the care home.

What is the 12-week property disregard in Wales?

For the first 12 weeks of a permanent care home stay, the value of your former home is ignored. If your other capital is below £50,000, the council helps with fees during that time, and you keep at least £46.35 a week of your income. The home counts from week 13 unless another disregard applies.

Can I give my house to my children to avoid care fees in Wales?

If avoiding care charges was a significant reason for the gift, the council can treat you as still owning the house. Under section 72 of the 2014 Act, it can also recover charges from your children. There is no seven-year cut-off. That rule applies to Inheritance Tax, not care fees.

How much interest is charged on a deferred payment agreement in Wales?

The maximum is the Office for Budget Responsibility gilt rate plus 0.15%, reset every January and July. Cardiff charged 4.85% for January to June 2026, while some councils charge no interest at all. Ask your council for its current rate and fees before signing.

Sources

• The Care and Support (Financial Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2015, including Schedule 2
• The Care and Support (Charging) (Wales) Regulations 2015
• The Care and Support (Deferred Payment) (Wales) Regulations 2015
• Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, section 72
• The Care and Support (Charging) and (Financial Assessment) (Wales) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026
• Monmouthshire County Council: deferred payment agreements
• Rhondda Cynon Taf Council: deferred payments scheme
• Cardiff Council: adult services fees and deferred payments
• Welsh Government: National framework for Continuing NHS Healthcare

General information, not legal or financial advice. Figures for 2026/27, checked October 2026.

Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 29 October 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.