Your housing rights as a live-in carer

You can move into someone’s home to care for them temporarily or permanently.

If you’re away from your home temporarily to care for them, you can continue getting benefits and keep your home.

If you move in permanently, your housing rights depend on whether they own or rent their home.

If you're a live-in carer as a job, check our advice on your rights if your home comes with your job.

If you’re away from home to care for someone temporarily

If you rent your home, tell your landlord you’ll be away temporarily, so they do not think you’ve abandoned your tenancy.

If you get the housing element of Universal Credit to help pay your rent, you can usually keep getting this for up to 6 months while you’re away.

If you get Housing Benefit, you could keep getting this for up to 13 weeks. This can be up to 52 weeks if you’re providing care that has been approved by a doctor.

If you decide to give up your home to be a live-in carer permanently, make sure to end your tenancy correctly. Check our advice on how to end your tenancy correctly.

Moving in permanently to care for someone who rents their home

Ask them to tell the landlord in writing that you’re moving in, and that this will be your main or only home. This can help secure your right to stay in the home in the future.

You’ll have stronger rights if you have a tenancy agreement. Without one you could be easily evicted.

If you pay rent to the person you care for, get an agreement in writing. This should state how much rent you pay, and how long you are staying for. Check our advice on your rights if you live with your landlord.

If you do not pay any rent, check our advice on your rights as a non-tenant occupier.

Becoming a joint tenant

You'll have a stronger right to stay in the home if you become a joint tenant.

If the home is rented from a private landlord or letting agency, you can ask them to make you a joint tenant straight away.

If the home is rented from the council or a housing association, you can become a joint tenant after 12 months. The 12 months only start when the person you’re caring for tells the landlord in writing that you’ve moved in.

As a joint tenant you’ll share the same rights and responsibilities. If the other tenant cannot pay their share of the rent, the landlord can ask you to pay the full amount.

Check our advice on your rights in a joint tenancy.

If the person you care for dies

You will not need to leave the home immediately. If you do not have the right to stay, you should be given reasonable notice to move out.

You may be able to take over the tenancy. This is called succession, or succeeding the tenancy.

You’ll usually have the right to succeed the tenancy if either:

you had a joint tenancy
the person you cared for was your spouse or civil partner

There are more circumstances where you can succeed the tenancy. Check our advice on:

If the person you care for owns their home

If you pay them rent, get an agreement in writing. This should state how much rent you pay and how long the tenancy will last.

In any case, if the homeowner wants you to move out they should give you reasonable notice.

If you pay rent but do not have a written agreement you’ll usually have common law tenancy rights. Check our advice on your rights in a common law tenancy.

If the person you care for dies, get legal advice as soon as possible to understand your rights. You can:

find a solicitor at the Law Society of Scotland website
heck our advice on getting legal help for free or at a lower cost

Getting support as a carer

You can get a free carer’s assessment from the council for them to recommend services and support that could help make things easier. They’ll ask you about how your caring responsibilities affect your health, work, free time, and relationships.

Find your council’s social services department on mygov.scot.

You could get benefits and other financial support as a carer. To check what you’re entitled to:

For more information about your rights and support that you could get:

Last updated: 21 November 2024