Respite care is temporary care that gives the main carer a break. It can be a few hours of in-home sitting while you run errands, a day centre visit that frees up the afternoon, or a one-to-four week stay in a care home while you take a proper holiday. In 2026, costs range from £20-35 per hour for home-based sitting to £1,000-1,500 per week for residential respite — but many councils fund a set number of respite days per year if you request a carer's assessment.
If you are caring for a parent, partner, or relative and have not taken a proper break in months, this guide covers every type of respite available in the UK, what each costs, how to get it funded, and exactly how to arrange it step by step.
Taking a break is not selfish. It is what keeps you able to care.
This guide covers England only. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have different care funding systems.
Last updated: March 2026.
What Is Respite Care?
Respite care is any temporary arrangement that gives the primary carer time away from their caring responsibilities. The person being cared for receives professional support during this time — either in their own home, at a day centre, or in a care home.
The purpose is simple: to prevent carer burnout. Unpaid carers in the UK provide an estimated £162 billion worth of care per year. Many do so with no regular break, no holiday, and no time for their own health. Respite care exists to change that.
Respite is not a sign that you cannot cope. It is a planned, structured part of sustainable caring. The Care Act 2014 recognises this by giving carers a legal right to an assessment of their own needs — separate from the needs of the person they care for.
Types of Respite Care
There is no single "respite care" product. The right type depends on how long a break you need, where the person is most comfortable, and what level of care they require.
| Type | What it is | Typical duration | Cost (2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-home sitting service | A carer stays in your home while you go out | 2-6 hours | £20-35/hour | Short breaks, errands, appointments |
| In-home live-in respite | A temporary live-in carer moves in | 3-28 days | £1,200-1,500/week | Holidays, recovery from illness |
| Day centre / day care | Activities, meals, and social time at a local centre | Daytime (usually 10am-4pm) | £50-100/day | Regular weekly breaks |
| Residential respite | A stay in a care home | 1-4 weeks | £1,000-1,500/week | Longer breaks, carer holidays |
| Nursing respite | A stay in a nursing home | 1-4 weeks | £1,200-1,700/week | Complex medical needs |
| Emergency respite | Urgent placement at short notice | As needed | Varies | Carer illness, family crisis |
In-home sitting services
The lightest form of respite. A carer comes to the house for a few hours so you can leave. They provide companionship, make meals, prompt medication, and ensure the person is safe. No personal care is usually included at the basic level, though many agencies offer it as an upgrade.
This is practical for regular short breaks — a few hours every week — rather than extended time off.
In-home live-in respite
A temporary live-in carer moves in for the duration of your break. The person being cared for stays in their own home with their own routine. For people with dementia, this is often the least disruptive option because the environment stays the same.
Costs are comparable to ongoing live-in care — £1,200-1,500 per week — because you are paying for the same level of service on a short-term basis.
Day centres and day care
Local authority or charity-run centres offer daytime activities, meals, and social interaction. Most operate on weekdays from around 10am to 4pm. Some provide transport. This is not just a break for you — it is often genuinely beneficial for the person being cared for, providing social contact and mental stimulation that they do not get at home.
Day care works well as a regular weekly arrangement: two or three days a week at a centre gives you predictable, consistent time for yourself.
Residential respite
A temporary stay in a care home, typically one to four weeks. The person receives the same care as a permanent resident — meals, personal care, activities, and 24-hour staff presence. This is the most common type of respite for longer breaks.
Residential respite also serves another purpose: it gives both you and the person a chance to experience what life in a care home is actually like. Many families use it as an informal trial stay before making a permanent decision.
Nursing respite
The same as residential respite but in a nursing home, with qualified nurses on duty. This is necessary when the person has complex medical needs — wound care, catheter management, PEG feeding, or conditions requiring regular clinical monitoring.
Nursing respite costs more because of the staffing requirement, but it is essential for people whose care needs go beyond what a standard care home can provide.
Emergency respite
If you fall ill, have an accident, or face a crisis that means you suddenly cannot care, emergency respite provides an urgent placement. Contact your local council's adult social care team — most have an emergency duty team available outside office hours. Hospitals can also arrange emergency respite if the carer is the one being admitted.
Emergency respite is reactive and often less ideal (the person may end up in whichever home has a bed available rather than the best-suited one). This is why planning regular respite in advance is important — it reduces the chances of needing emergency arrangements.
How Much Does Respite Care Cost?
The table above gives the ranges by type. Here is a fuller picture with some context.
In-home respite costs
Hourly sitting services: £20-35 per hour depending on the provider, your location, and whether personal care is included. London and the South East sit at the top end. A regular weekly booking (say, three hours every Tuesday) may attract a lower rate than ad-hoc bookings.
Live-in respite: £1,200-1,500 per week for standard care, more for dementia specialist care. This is broadly the same as ongoing live-in care rates — there is no short-stay premium for most agencies. For a detailed breakdown of live-in care costs, see our live-in carer costs guide.
Day care costs
Day centres typically charge £50-100 per day, sometimes including transport. Council-run centres are at the lower end. Specialist dementia day care tends to cost more. Some councils fund day care directly as part of a support plan following a carer's assessment.
Residential and nursing respite costs
Residential care home respite: £1,000-1,500 per week for a private room with full board and care. This is the home's standard weekly rate — there is no difference between what a respite resident pays and what a permanent resident pays.
Nursing home respite: £1,200-1,700 per week, reflecting the additional nursing staff.
A Critical Check (The MSIF Benchmark): If you are arranging residential respite privately, do not just accept the home's brochure price. RightCareHome publishes the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund (MSIF) data—showing exactly what local councils pay for beds in your area. If a home quotes you £1,500/week for a respite stay, but the MSIF data shows your council pays them £950/week, you have room to negotiate. You may not get the council rate, but you can often secure a fairer price by proving you know the true local benchmark.
Some care homes charge a small premium for very short stays (less than one week) to cover the administrative overhead of admission and discharge. Ask about this when enquiring.
How to Get Respite Care Funded
You do not necessarily need to pay for all of this yourself. Several funding routes exist, and the most important one starts with a single phone call.
The carer's assessment
This is the most overlooked entitlement in the care system. Under the Care Act 2014, you have a legal right to a carer's assessment — an assessment of your own needs as a carer, separate from any assessment of the person you care for.
Contact your local council's adult social care team and request a carer's assessment. The assessment looks at:
- The impact of caring on your physical and mental health
- Whether you are able to maintain your own wellbeing
- Whether you want or need to continue working alongside caring
- Whether you have any social life, rest time, or personal space
If the assessment identifies that you need a break (and it usually does for anyone caring more than a few hours a day), the council must produce a support plan. This plan typically includes a respite allocation.
Worked Scenario: Funding a 2-Week Break
Let's look at how a carer's assessment changes the financial reality of taking a break.
The Situation: Sarah cares full-time for her mother, who has dementia. Sarah is exhausted and needs a 2-week holiday. Her mother's savings are £30,000 (above the £23,250 threshold), meaning her mother is technically a self-funder. A local care home quotes £1,200/week for a 2-week respite stay (£2,400 total).
Without a Carer's Assessment: Sarah assumes that because her mother is a self-funder, they must pay the full £2,400 out of pocket. They decide they cannot afford it, and Sarah cancels her holiday.
With a Carer's Assessment: Sarah requests a carer's assessment from the council. The social worker agrees Sarah is at risk of carer burnout.
- The council's support plan awards Sarah a Direct Payment of £1,500 specifically to fund a carer's break.
- Sarah applies this £1,500 to the £2,400 care home bill.
- The family only needs to pay the £900 shortfall out of pocket.
Result: Sarah gets her 2-week break for £900 instead of £2,400, simply because she asked the council to assess her needs, not just her mother's.
Council respite allocation
Many councils offer a set number of funded respite days per year as part of a carer's support plan. The exact amount varies by council — typically between two and six weeks per year. Some councils provide a direct payment instead, giving you a budget to arrange respite yourself.
The means test for respite funding is applied to the person being cared for, not to you as the carer. If the person's capital is below £23,250, the council contributes. Below £14,250, the council pays in full. Above £23,250, you pay the full cost — but the carer's assessment still helps by formalising your right to a break.
NHS-funded respite
If the person you care for receives NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), respite care is part of their care package. This means the NHS covers the cost of residential or nursing respite when you need a break. There is no means test for CHC — it is based purely on the person's health needs.
Even if the person does not currently receive CHC, it is worth checking whether they might be eligible. Our guide to CHC eligibility for dementia explains the criteria.
Charitable grants and support
Several charities offer direct support for carers needing a break:
After Umbrage provides free four-night holiday cottage stays for carers. You apply online and, if accepted, receive a free stay at one of their partner properties around the UK.
The Respite Association offers grants to help carers pay for respite care. Applications are means-tested but the thresholds are more generous than council funding.
Turn2Us operates a searchable database of charitable grants. Search by your situation (carer, location, age) and it shows grants you may be eligible for.
Carers UK does not fund respite directly but provides a helpline (0808 808 7777) that can guide you to local respite options and funding sources you may not know about.
Direct payments
If the council funds respite as part of a support plan, you can request the funding as a direct payment rather than a pre-arranged service. This gives you a budget to arrange your own respite — choosing the provider, the dates, and the type that works for your family.
Direct payments offer flexibility. You might use the budget for residential respite one month and in-home sitting services the next. The council sets the total amount; you decide how to spend it.
How to Arrange Respite Care: Step by Step
Step 1 — Request a carer's assessment
Call your local council's adult social care team and ask for a carer's assessment. This is free and you are entitled to it regardless of your financial situation or the level of care you provide. The assessment can usually be done over the phone or at home.
Step 2 — Discuss respite in the support plan
If the assessment identifies a need for regular breaks (it will, if you are caring daily), the resulting support plan should include a respite allocation. Ask specifically about: how many days or weeks per year, whether it is provided as a direct payment or pre-arranged, and whether you can choose the provider.
Step 3 — Choose the type of respite
Based on what you need and what is funded, decide between in-home care, day care, or residential respite. Consider:
- How long a break do you need? A few hours = sitting service. A week or more = residential.
- How will the person react? People with dementia often do better staying in their own home. People who are socially isolated may benefit from a care home's communal environment.
- Do they have nursing needs? If yes, residential respite must be in a nursing home.
Step 4 — If residential: visit the care home
Do not book a respite stay without visiting first. Ask about:
- The room they would stay in (request to see it)
- The daily routine and activities programme
- How they handle new residents, especially those with dementia
- What you need to bring (medication, clothing, personal items)
- The cost and what is included
- Cancellation policy
Step 5 — Prepare the person
This is the step that families most often skip, and it causes the most distress.
Explain what is happening in simple, calm terms. "You're going to stay somewhere comfortable for a week while I have a break. I'll visit, and then you'll come home." Repeat this several times in the days before.
Pack familiar items — a favourite blanket, family photos, a small radio, their own toiletries. Familiar objects reduce anxiety, particularly for people with dementia.
Brief the care home staff on preferences: what they like to eat, what time they usually wake, what upsets them, what calms them. The more the staff know, the better the stay will be.
Step 6 — Take your break
This is the hardest step for many carers. Guilt is normal. Checking in constantly is tempting. But the entire point of respite is that you switch off.
If you find it impossible to relax, that itself is a sign that you needed this break more than you realised.
Using Respite as a Care Home Trial Stay
One of the most practical uses of residential respite is as an informal test drive for a care home. A one-to-two week stay reveals things that a daytime visit cannot: how staff interact with residents in the evening, what the food is really like, whether the person settles into the routine or becomes distressed.
Many families discover that their parent adjusts better than expected — and that a care home they were anxious about turns out to feel safe and welcoming. Others find that the home is not the right fit, and the information saves them from making a permanent decision they would regret.
Either outcome is valuable.
For a detailed guide to using respite strategically as a trial stay, see our article on respite care and trial stays before a care home.
If you want to find care homes near you that offer respite stays and have strong quality records, our Funding Calculator provides a data-driven starting point—showing exactly what your funding position is and matching you with appropriate care options based on 156 data-backed quality factors.
Get Your Custom Funding Action Plan
When Respite Is Not Enough
Regular respite is a vital support for carers. But there are situations where it signals something bigger.
If you find that you cannot manage in the periods between respite breaks — if each gap between breaks feels longer and harder than the last — it may be time to consider whether the current caring arrangement is sustainable.
This does not mean you have failed. It means the person's needs have changed, your own capacity has reached its limit, or both. These are normal, predictable stages in a care journey.
If you are beginning to think about permanent residential care, our guide on how to get someone into a care home explains the process from start to finish. And our guide on end of life care at home covers what happens when care needs intensify but the preference is to stay at home.
Whatever you decide, the most important thing is that you — the carer — are supported too.
Further Reading
- Respite Care Before a Care Home: How Trial Stays Help Families Decide
- End of Life Care at Home: What to Expect, Who Pays, How to Arrange
- Live-In Carer Costs UK 2026: What You'll Actually Pay
- Caregiver Burnout: Self-Assessment and What to Do Next
- Care Home Funding Eligibility: A Complete UK Guide
Trial Stay vs Respite: Quick Comparison
| Respite stay | Trial stay | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Give the carer a break | Test whether a specific care home is the right long-term fit |
| Typical duration | 1-4 weeks | 1-2 weeks |
| Who pays | Council (via carer's assessment), NHS (via CHC), or self-funded | Self-funded or council as part of assessment |
| Outcome | Person returns home | Family decides whether to proceed with permanent placement |
Sources
- Care Act 2014: carer's assessments — GOV.UK
- NHS Continuing Healthcare — NHS
- Respite care — Age UK
- Looking after someone: your rights — GOV.UK