Can you get Attendance Allowance in a care home?
It depends who pays for the care. Someone paying all their own care home fees can usually keep getting Attendance Allowance. Someone cannot usually get it if their care is paid for by their local authority. Tell the Attendance Allowance Unit about any move into a care home or hospital, with the date and who is paying.
Checked 28 September 2026 against the sources below · Sources at the bottomIt depends who pays. Someone paying all their own care home fees can usually keep getting Attendance Allowance. Someone cannot usually get it if their care is paid for by their local authority.
In short
- Paying all their own fees: Attendance Allowance usually carries on.
- Care paid for by the local authority: they cannot usually get it.
- Going into hospital: tell the Attendance Allowance Unit.
- Tell the Attendance Allowance Unit about the move, the date, and who is paying.
- If in doubt, ask them, or get a free benefits check.
Self-funded or council-funded
Someone who pays all their own care home fees can usually keep getting Attendance Allowance.
Someone cannot usually get Attendance Allowance if their care is paid for by their local authority.
Short stays and respite
For a short stay or respite, ask the care home or the council how it is being paid for. Who pays is what matters, so tell the Attendance Allowance Unit and let them say whether the payment is affected.
Hospital stays
Tell the Attendance Allowance Unit about changes such as care needs getting better or worse, going into hospital or a care home, or going abroad.
If someone goes from hospital straight into a care home, or back and forth, tell the Attendance Allowance Unit about each move and its date, and let them say whether the payment is affected.
What to tell DWP
Tell the Attendance Allowance Unit about changes such as care needs getting better or worse, going into hospital or a care home, or going abroad.
Give the date of the move, and who is paying the care home fees, as soon as it happens - not at a later review.
A worked example
Invented example, not a real claim: two sisters both have dementia and move into care homes in the same month. One pays her own fees from her savings and a private pension - her Attendance Allowance keeps being paid. The other moves into a home where the council pays for her care - she cannot usually get Attendance Allowance there, so the family tells the Attendance Allowance Unit about the move.
How much
Who pays the care home fees decides whether it is paid, as above.
What to do next
Ring 0800 731 0122 and ask for the claim form, or to update an existing claim. The claim can start from the date of the call, if the form is returned within 6 weeks.
You can apply to DWP directly, and Citizens Advice can help at no cost.
Common questions
Does a short respite stay affect Attendance Allowance?
It can, depending on who pays for it. Ask the care home or council how the stay is being paid for, and tell the Attendance Allowance Unit about it, with the dates. They will say whether the payment is affected.
What if the council starts paying after I've been self-funding?
Tell the Attendance Allowance Unit as soon as the way the fees are paid changes. Someone cannot usually get Attendance Allowance if their care is paid for by their local authority.
Can Attendance Allowance be used to pay care home fees?
It is paid to the person, not to the care home. They, or whoever manages their money for them, decide how it is spent, and that can include paying towards fees.
What if someone goes into hospital?
Tell the Attendance Allowance Unit when the hospital stay starts, and again when it ends. They will say whether the payment is affected.
What happens if someone moves from hospital straight into a care home?
Tell the Attendance Allowance Unit about both moves and the date of each. How the days count can depend on the order and length of each stay, so ask them rather than guessing.
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