The short answer
- No rent, because it isn't a tenancyA live-in carer stays in the spare room because the job needs them there, not because they are renting it. There is no landlord and tenant relationship behind it.
- They occupy under licence, not a leaseThe room comes with the care agreement and the family's ongoing consent, not a tenancy agreement, so the usual rules for evicting a tenant do not apply.
- Council tax rarely changes because of itThe two carer disregards in council tax law are narrow, and most live-in carers arranged through PrimeCarers do not fit either one neatly. Ask the council rather than assume.
- Put food, bills and notice in writing anywayPrimeCarers' contract does not cover housekeeping money or household bills between you and the carer, so it is worth agreeing this before they move in.
PrimeCarers is an introductory service. What is agreed about the room, food and bills is a matter between you and the carer directly, not something PrimeCarers sets or manages.
The short answer
No, because staying there is not a tenancy
A live-in carer does not pay rent, and there is no tenancy behind their room the way there would be for a lodger or a tenant. They are there because the job needs someone in the house day and night, not because they have taken out a lease on the spare room.
What 'no rent' means
- The carer isn't renting the room, so there's no deposit, no lease and no landlord and tenant relationship to manage
- What they're paid for caring is agreed separately, as a weekly rate, directly between you and the carer
- They still keep the entitlements set out in the care agreement, including regular breaks and time off each week
- The arrangement can end on notice, without either of you going through a formal eviction
What it doesn't mean
- It doesn't mean the carer has no rights at all while they're living there
- It doesn't mean PrimeCarers sets or manages what's agreed about the room, food or bills; that's between you and the carer
- It doesn't mean nothing needs to be written down; a short agreement covering the basics avoids most disputes
- It doesn't work the same way as a lodger paying you rent in exchange for a tenancy
Not paying rent is one of the reasons families choose live-in care over a rota of shorter visits: how live-in care works covers the day-to-day arrangement, and a weekly rate on PrimeCarers, from £1,050 to £1,400 with our fee included, already assumes a room and meals are provided rather than paid for separately. What is less well understood is why the arrangement isn't a tenancy in law, and what that means if things need to end. That's covered next.
Not a tenancy
Why a live-in carer occupies under licence, not a lease
English housing law has a category for exactly this kind of arrangement: someone who lives in a property because their work requires it, not because they have rented it. It comes with far fewer protections than a tenancy, for both sides.
A tenant
- Money each month
- Pays rent, set out in a tenancy agreement.
- What holds the arrangement together
- A tenancy agreement, giving a legal right to occupy the property for a fixed or rolling term.
- If the arrangement needs to end
- Protected by the Housing Act 1988. The landlord usually has to serve a formal notice, and needs a court order if the tenant does not leave.
- Counted for council tax?
- Always counted as a resident adult in the property.
A live-in carer
- Money each month
- Pays no rent. What they're paid for caring is a separate rate, agreed directly with the client.
- What holds the arrangement together
- A care agreement, and the client's ongoing consent to them being in the house. No separate lease over the room.
- If the arrangement needs to end
- Occupies under licence. Leaves within the notice period set out in the care agreement, without a formal eviction or a court order.
- Counted for council tax?
- Depends on which council tax disregard, if any, applies. See below.
A live-in carer who pays no rent and has no lease is what housing law calls an excluded occupier: someone who lives in another person's home without a tenancy. This does not depend on being anyone's employee, which matters here because a carer found through PrimeCarers is self-employed and never becomes the client's employee. Being an excluded occupier is why PrimeCarers' contract treats a carer's presence in the house as tied to the client's ongoing consent, not to a lease over the room, and why a live-in carer does not build up the protections a tenant would, such as a right to a formal eviction notice or a court hearing before being asked to leave. Citizens Advice's guide for excluded occupiers covers the category and what basic protection still applies, of which a live-in carer is one example.
Ending the arrangement
What notice a live-in carer is entitled to before they move out
Because the room comes with the job rather than a lease, what decides how much notice a carer gets is the care agreement itself, not housing law.
- 1
The first week
48 hoursUntil a carer has worked 168 hours in total, roughly the first week of a full-time placement, either side can end the arrangement on 48 hours' notice. - 2
Once 168 hours have been worked
7 daysFrom that point, PrimeCarers' contract sets a notice period of 7 days for either you or the carer to end a live-in arrangement. - 3
If it's a safety or trust issue
SoonerEither of you can act faster than the notice period if staying would be unsafe. The carer is expected to leave within a practical period, taking account of transport and their own safety, rather than instantly.
This is a contractual notice period, not a landlord's notice to quit, and no court order sits behind it. If a carer were to refuse to leave once notice had run out, that becomes a question of trespass and the ordinary law that applies to anyone overstaying in someone's home, rather than the tenant eviction process a landlord would have to follow. In practice this is rare, and what a live-in carer is entitled to sets out the breaks, time off and other basics that keep an arrangement working well enough that it doesn't reach this point.
Council tax
Whether having a live-in carer changes your council tax bill
Not paying rent naturally raises the next question: does a live-in carer count as another adult in the house for council tax? The answer depends on which of two disregards, if either, applies, and councils don't always describe them consistently.
| Who it covers | Hours a week | Pay limit | Fits a PrimeCarers arrangement? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Care worker disregard | A carer employed by a council, the Crown or a charity | 24 or more | A low weekly amount fixed in regulations | Rarely. A carer found through PrimeCarers is self-employed and paid a market rate directly by you, not employed by a charity or council on a token wage. |
| Carer disregard | Someone caring for a person who gets a qualifying disability benefit | 35 or more | No pay limit set out in the rules | Possibly, if your relative gets Attendance Allowance or a similar benefit and the carer lives with them and isn't their spouse or partner. Ask the council to check. |
Care worker disregard
- Who it covers
- A carer employed by a council, the Crown or a charity
- Hours a week
- 24 or more
- Pay limit
- A low weekly amount fixed in regulations
- Fits a PrimeCarers arrangement?
- Rarely. A carer found through PrimeCarers is self-employed and paid a market rate directly by you, not employed by a charity or council on a token wage.
Carer disregard
- Who it covers
- Someone caring for a person who gets a qualifying disability benefit
- Hours a week
- 35 or more
- Pay limit
- No pay limit set out in the rules
- Fits a PrimeCarers arrangement?
- Possibly, if your relative gets Attendance Allowance or a similar benefit and the carer lives with them and isn't their spouse or partner. Ask the council to check.
The Council Tax (Discount Disregards) Order 1992, as amended. Government has told councils directly that some are still quoting the rules as they stood before changes made in 2013, so ask your own council's council tax team rather than relying on general guidance, including this page.
Apply for a council tax discount is the right starting point. Ask the council's council tax team specifically about the "carer" disregard, not the narrower "care worker" one, and be ready to show the disability benefit your relative receives.
Food, bills and tax
What is left to agree once rent is off the table
No rent doesn't mean no cost. Three things are worth settling before a carer moves in, because none of them are covered by PrimeCarers' contract: food, household bills, and the carer's own tax.
What to put in writing before moving-in day
0 of 5 ticked
Food and shopping
Household bills and Wi-Fi
The carer's own tax
Do live-in carers buy their own food? goes through the usual food arrangements in more detail, and does a live-in carer need the internet? covers why most carers ask for Wi-Fi and how families usually provide it. None of this changes because no rent is being paid. A live-in carer is a self-employed contractor, not your employee, so there is no PAYE and no benefit-in-kind form to complete for the room. Free accommodation is not taxed the way it would be for an employee, because there is no employer in the relationship to report it. How to pay tax as a self-employed carer is written for the carer's side of this, and worth knowing about if you are ever asked. What you owe each other is whatever you agree and put in writing, in much the same way PrimeCarers' contract leaves mileage and driving costs to be agreed directly between you rather than setting a rate itself.
Questions
Questions families ask about live-in carers and rent
No. Charging rent would turn the arrangement into something closer to a tenancy, which is not what either side wants. A live-in carer stays in the spare room because the job needs someone there, and what they are paid for caring is agreed as a separate weekly rate rather than reduced by rent owed back to you.
No. However long a carer lives in, they occupy the room under a licence tied to the care arrangement, not a tenancy, provided no rent is charged and the arrangement stays connected to the caring role. Length of stay on its own does not create a tenancy.
It depends on which disregard, if any, applies, and this is worth checking with your council directly rather than assuming either way. See the council tax section above for the two disregards and why most PrimeCarers arrangements do not fit the narrower one.
Yes, under the care agreement rather than housing law. PrimeCarers' contract sets a 48-hour notice period in the first week, rising to 7 days once 168 hours have been worked, and either of you can act faster if staying would be unsafe.
This is agreed directly between you and the carer, since it sits outside PrimeCarers' contract. Most families provide food as part of the arrangement, either through a shared shop or a housekeeping float, and absorb the small rise in heating and electricity that comes with someone living in. Do live-in carers buy their own food? goes through the usual patterns.
A live-in carer is self-employed and responsible for their own tax through HMRC Self Assessment, in the same way as any other self-employed contractor. Free accommodation is not taxed as a benefit in kind the way it would be for an employee, because there is no employer to report it. What they owe HMRC is a matter between the carer and HMRC, not something you administer.
That is between you and the carer, like any other part of the weekly rate. Carers set their own rate on PrimeCarers, and most already price a live-in week on the basis that food and a room are provided rather than paid for separately, so it is worth asking what a carer's rate already assumes before proposing a lower one.