Hammersmith and Fulham · West London
Live-in Care in Hammersmith and Fulham
A carer who moves into the spare room of a Fulham terrace, a Brook Green mansion flat or a riverside apartment, so care stays at home and the journey from our Lewisham office stops mattering.
Yes, we arrange live-in care anywhere in Hammersmith and Fulham, for one person or for a couple. One of our carers moves in, has their own room, and supports the household through the day, so it works the same in White City as it does in Parsons Green. It starts with a free home assessment by Jackie, our registered manager, and a written care plan.
Why our distance from the borough doesn't matter here
We're straight about this on our home care page: Lewisham is 50 minutes to an hour or more from most of H&F, so daily visits depend on having carers who can make that journey. Live-in care avoids the problem. The carer travels once, at the start of their stay, and then they are already there in the morning. That is why, for anyone who needs help at several points in the day, live-in care is the most dependable thing we can offer in this borough.
Does your home have room for a live-in carer?
The one firm requirement is a bedroom for the carer, with somewhere to keep their things, plus use of the kitchen and bathroom. H&F's housing makes that easy in some streets and hard in others.
- Whole Victorian houses around Parsons Green, Ravenscourt Park and Brook Green usually have a spare room, and often a second bathroom too.
- Fulham terraces split into two flats are trickier. The upper flat may have one bedroom, steep stairs and a bath on the top floor. If there's no second bedroom, live-in care isn't possible there, and we'll say so.
- Mansion blocks around Barons Court, West Kensington and Hammersmith vary: many two-bedroom flats work well, but check the lift if a wheelchair or hoist is involved.
- New riverside flats at Imperial Wharf, Fulham Reach and Chelsea Creek have lifts and level floors, which makes them some of the easiest homes in the borough for mobility equipment, provided there's a second bedroom.
- Council sheltered housing is one-bedroom flats with an alarm and a scheme officer but no on-site care. There is no room for a carer to live in, so visiting care is the usual answer there.
One carer for two people
When one partner needs a lot of help and the other needs a little, a live-in carer can support them both: full personal care for one, and meals, shopping and a steady hand on the stairs for the other. In H&F that matters more than usual, because the council's sheltered flats are one-bedroom, so a couple with different needs can't simply move into one with a live-in carer. Staying in the family house with one carer keeps them together. The care plan sets out what the carer does for each of them.
Coming home after specialist treatment? Hammersmith Hospital on Du Cane Road is home to the West London Renal and Transplant Centre, cancer services and a 24/7 heart attack centre, and Charing Cross Hospital is the main acute hospital for most of the borough. If a stay there means someone can't manage alone afterwards, tell the ward early that you're considering live-in care and call us, so the assessment can happen while discharge is still being planned. See our hospital discharge support.
How much does live-in care cost in Hammersmith and Fulham?
We don't quote prices before we've met you, because the figure depends on how much help is needed, whether it's one person or two, and whether there's any care at night. After the assessment you get a written figure. On funding, there are three routes to check.
The council. H&F is the only council that doesn't charge for home care, but care homes are still charged in the usual means-tested way. Whether the council will fund all or part of a live-in arrangement depends on the Care Act assessment, so ask Adult Social Care directly (0800 145 6095). If you're assessed as needing long-term care, the council says you're likely to be eligible for a personal budget, which can be paid as a direct payment and used to choose your provider. Its assessments and paying for care page is the starting point.
The NHS. Where someone's needs are mainly health needs, they may qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare, which pays for care in full. In H&F this is decided under the NHS West and North London integrated care board, which took over from NHS North West London in April 2026. Ask the ward or the GP for a CHC checklist.
Our guide to paying for care in London covers self-funding and benefits in more detail.
Live-in care or a care home in the borough?
If you're weighing live-in care against a care home, the choice is personal. Live-in care means one carer, one household and the person's own routines: lunch at Age UK's activity centre on Greyhound Road, the walk round Ravenscourt Park, Mass at the same church, friends at POSK or the Irish Cultural Centre. A care home offers company and staff on site around the clock, which some people prefer. One practical difference in this borough: council-arranged care at home is free after an assessment, while care home places are charged and means-tested, so get the council's view before you compare costs. We'll give you our own written figure after the assessment so you can set it against any care home quote.
Breaks and nights: what a live-in carer needs
A live-in carer is entitled to a proper break each day and an unbroken night's sleep. During the break, someone else needs to be around if the person can't be left: a family member, a visiting carer, or a session somewhere they enjoy. Day opportunities in the borough include Nubian Life on Ellerslie Road in Shepherd's Bush and the Age UK activity centre. If someone needs help several times a night, one live-in carer isn't enough, and we will tell you so at the assessment instead of stretching a single carer across 24 hours. When the carer takes holidays, we arrange cover in advance.
What we can help with in Hammersmith and Fulham
- A carer living in, with their own room
- Care for one person or a couple
- Personal care through the day
- Medication support
- Cooking, housekeeping and laundry
- Dementia support at home
- Company, outings and appointments
- Cover arranged for the carer's breaks
Areas of Hammersmith and Fulham we cover
Care across the borough, including these neighbourhoods. Each has its own page with local detail.
Our services
How we can help in Hammersmith and Fulham
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Visiting care in Hammersmith and Fulham
Regular visits for personal care, medication, meals and company.
Read more →Respite care in Hammersmith and Fulham
Cover so a family carer can rest, recover or go away.
Read more →Supported living in Hammersmith and Fulham
Our homes in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge.
Read more →Hammersmith and Fulham FAQs
Live-in care in H&F: questions families ask
Questions families ask us about Hammersmith and Fulham. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionWill the council's free home care pay for a live-in carer?
That's for the council to answer after a Care Act assessment, and it depends on what the assessment says you need. Call Adult Social Care on 0800 145 6095 and ask specifically about live-in care and direct payments. If the council won't fund it, we can arrange it privately after our own assessment.
My parents live in the top flat of a converted house in Fulham. Can live-in care work?
Only if there's a second bedroom for the carer. If there is, we'll look closely at the stairs and the bathroom at the assessment, because those are the hard parts in converted flats. If there isn't, regular visiting care or a move to an adapted flat are the realistic options, and we will be honest about which is likely to work.
Does a live-in carer need a parking permit?
Not if they don't bring a car, and the borough's Tube and Overground links mean they don't need one to get around. If a carer does drive, almost all of H&F is in controlled parking zones, so talk to us before the stay starts about how parking will work.
Mum has dementia and goes to Singing for the Brain. Can the carer keep that going?
Yes, and they should. Keeping the groups, cafes and walks someone already enjoys is a big part of why people choose live-in care. Alzheimer's Society's H&F service runs a dementia cafe on a Saturday each month and has run a Singing for the Brain group for H&F, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster residents; phone 020 8563 0001 to check current sessions. The carer can take her and use that time as part of her week. See our dementia care page.
We live near Stamford Bridge. Does match day cause problems for live-in care?
Much less than for visiting care. A live-in carer is already in the house, so crowds and closed roads around Fulham Broadway on match days don't stop the morning routine. Plan hospital appointments and the carer's changeover days around the fixture list, because getting a car through Fulham Broadway or past Craven Cottage on a match afternoon is slow.
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