Best live-in care agencies in St Albans (CQC-checked, October 2026)

Key Takeaways

Nine CQC-registered locations, scored on 30 October 2026, for live-in care covering St Albans. Outstanding beats Good, inspections older than four years lose 15 points, and a website-checked published price or live-in offer adds 5 each. Live-in is not a CQC specialism, so that bonus is zero. We run Match With Care. We are not CQC-registered as a care provider, so we sit in a labelled box outside this list. Method: how we rank agencies.

CQC's latest look at Abbots Care counted 871 people receiving personal care from an office on Campfield Road. The report does not say how many of those people had a carer living in.

Age UK (updated 18 February 2026) still points families at registered homecare agencies, or at arranging a private carer themselves. If savings sit above £23,250, Age UK says the council will not help with care costs. The NHS puts help at home from a paid carer at about £15 to £30 an hour, and is plain that you might need a live-in carer. Age UK's cost page (updated 29 October 2026) puts privately arranged care at home around £25 an hour. Attendance Allowance is still £76.70 a week, or £114.60 if help is needed through both day and night.

A daughter catching the 9.03 from St Albans City can open Helping Hands and see £1,675 a week printed on the local live-in page. Unique's Hertfordshire page prints £265 a day. Multiply the daily figure before you treat either of them as the cheaper option.

How we scored these live-in care agencies

The CQC (updated 1 July 2025) registers people who carry on regulated activity. Homecare agencies that provide personal care have to be on that register. Introductory platforms do not, which is why Elder, Curam and Care.com UK are not in this table.

Each location starts at 100 for Outstanding, 60 for Good, or 20 for Requires improvement. An inspection older than four years, or missing, loses 15. A listed live-in specialism would add 10; none of these CQC pages had one. A website-checked published hourly or weekly from-price adds 5. A website-checked live-in offer adds 5. Ties break on the more recent inspection, then the name. Full rules: agency ranking methodology. Checked 30 October 2026.

Cera's live-in page is live, but Mears Care - Hertfordshire at Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, is archived, so Cera is out of this table. STARLING HOMECARE (St Albans & Harpenden) at Soothouse Spring was registered on 17 December 2025 and has not been inspected. Its live-in page (reviewed 24 October 2026) prints from £255 a day.

Unique Senior Care's Hertfordshire comparison (last checked September 2026) puts Unique first, and says Abbots Care has "no clear current price published".

What are the best live-in care agencies in St Albans?

Rank	Agency	Score	CQC rating	Last inspection	Website-checked fact	Drawback
1	Trinity Homecare (Worcester Park)	110	Outstanding	Report published 9 Oct 2025	Live-in from £1,694 a week; St Albans coverage page	CQC location is Worcester Park
2	Abbots Care Limited (Hertfordshire)	105	Outstanding	Assessment 4 Jun to 20 Aug 2025	Live-in listed; St Albans named	No from-price on the pages we opened
3	Unique Senior Care	95	Outstanding	Report published 27 Aug 2021	Live-in from £265 a day / £1,855 a week	Inspection more than four years old
4	The Good Care Group	95	Outstanding	Report published 12 Apr 2019	Live-in from £256 a day; St Albans page	Inspection more than four years old
5	Home Instead St Albans	90	Outstanding	Report published 25 Jun 2019	Live-in listed; office in Porters Wood	Inspection more than four years old; no from-price
6	Helping Hands Harpenden	55	Good	Report published 13 Mar 2019	St Albans live-in from £1,675 a week	Inspection more than four years old; CQC name is Harpenden
7	Consultus Care and Nursing	55	Good	Report published 20 Feb 2019	Managed live-in from £1,603 a week	Inspection more than four years old; office is Tonbridge
8	Alina Homecare St Albans & Hemel Hempstead	50	Good	Report published 1 Jun 2019	Live-in listed; office in Hemel	Inspection more than four years old; no from-price
9	Oxford Aunts	50	Good	Report published 9 Dec 2017	Live-in listed on a St Albans page	Inspection more than four years old; CQC is in Oxfordshire

Checked 30 October 2026. Scores follow how we rank agencies. Match With Care is not in this table.

1. Trinity Homecare (Worcester Park) · 110

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-1864053896 at 1-15 Central Road, Worcester Park, is Outstanding, report published 9 October 2025. Dementia is listed. The St Albans coverage page names live-in around the city centre, Marshalswick and Fleetville. The group live-in page (reviewed 19 October 2026) publishes live-in from £1,694 a week.

Where it falls short. The registered office is in Worcester Park, not St Albans. The from-price is a national starting figure, not a St Albans quote.

Sources: CQC, St Albans coverage, live-in.

2. Abbots Care Limited (Hertfordshire) · 105

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-110156405 at Phoenix House, 63 Campfield Road, St Albans, is Outstanding, report published 16 October 2025, after an assessment from 4 June to 20 August 2025. Dementia is listed. The inspector's report says 871 people were receiving personal care. The Hertfordshire live-in page names St Albans. The St Albans home care page lists live-in as a local service.

Where it falls short. No from-price on the pages we opened. The CQC report still does not split that 871 into live-in and visiting.

Sources: CQC, Hertfordshire live-in, St Albans coverage.

3. Unique Senior Care · 95

Why it ranks here. Unique Care on comparison pages is Unique Senior Care in the CQC register. CQC location 1-7601685405 in Knowle, Solihull, is Outstanding, report published 27 August 2021. Dementia is listed. The Hertfordshire live-in page (updated 13 October 2026) names St Albans, and publishes live-in from £265 a day, or £330 a day for a couple. The costs page (updated 7 October 2026) restates £1,855 a week.

Where it falls short. The inspection is more than four years old. The registered office is in Solihull.

Sources: CQC, Hertfordshire live-in, costs.

4. The Good Care Group · 95

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-1489174477 at Portsoken House, Minories, is Outstanding, report published 12 April 2019. Dementia is listed. The St Albans home care page describes live-in and respite in the city. The national live-in page publishes live-in from £256 a day.

Where it falls short. The inspection is more than four years old. Unique's 2021 report is newer.

Sources: CQC, St Albans coverage, live-in.

5. Home Instead St Albans · 90

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-2031911032 is Harrall Care Services Limited t/a Home Instead Senior Care, at Unit 3, St Albans Enterprise Centre, Long Spring, Porters Wood. Outstanding, report published 25 June 2019. CQC last reviewed the information on 6 July 2023 and did not reassess. Dementia is listed. The inspection summary we opened says 73 of 113 people supported were receiving the regulated activity. The St Albans live-in page describes a Care Professional living in the home and names Fleetville, Marshalswick, Harpenden and Radlett.

Where it falls short. The inspection is more than four years old. No from-price on the local pages we opened, so the price bonus is zero.

Sources: CQC, local live-in.

6. Helping Hands Harpenden · 55

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-4631904112 is named Helping Hands Harpenden and sits at 2 Canberra House, London Road, St Albans. Good, report published 13 March 2019. Dementia is listed. The 2019 inspection report we opened said 36 people were receiving personal care. The St Albans live-in page publishes live-in at £1,675 a week for one person, or £2,125 for a couple.

Where it falls short. The rating is Good, so it starts 40 points behind Outstanding, and the inspection is more than four years old. The live CQC name is Harpenden. An older Helping Hands St Albans record at Calverton House was archived on 31 March 2017.

Sources: CQC, St Albans live-in.

7. Consultus Care and Nursing · 55

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-120788654 at 4 London Road, Tonbridge, is Good, report published 20 February 2019. Dementia is listed. The Hertfordshire live-in page names St Albans. The costs page publishes managed live-in from £1,603 a week, and introductory live-in from £1,092 a week. We scored the managed figure; that is the CQC-regulated arm.

Where it falls short. The inspection is more than four years old. The registered office is in Tonbridge. Introductory care from £1,092 is not CQC-regulated.

Sources: CQC, costs, Hertfordshire coverage.

8. Alina Homecare St Albans & Hemel Hempstead · 50

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-5181355144 at 575-599 Maxted Road, Hemel Hempstead, is Good, report published 1 June 2019. Dementia is listed. The inspection summary we opened said 83 people were being supported. The St Albans live-in page describes a carer moving in, and says costs vary.

Where it falls short. The inspection is more than four years old. No from-price, so the price bonus is zero. The CQC office is in Hemel Hempstead.

Sources: CQC, St Albans live-in.

9. Oxford Aunts · 50

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-309578470 at 12 Oasis Park, Eynsham, Witney, is Good, report published 9 December 2017. Dementia is listed. CQC last reviewed the information on 6 July 2023 and did not reassess. The St Albans live-in page describes a fully managed live-in service. The same page restates a Trustpilot average of 4.6 from 46 reviews as of January 2026.

Where it falls short. The inspection is more than four years old, and older than Alina's. No from-price on the pages we opened. The registered location is in Oxfordshire.

Sources: CQC, St Albans live-in.

Best-for picks from the same scores

• Highest score in this St Albans live-in set: Trinity Homecare (Worcester Park), 110, because it also published a weekly from-price.
• Most recently inspected Outstanding: Abbots Care Limited (Hertfordshire), assessment ended 20 August 2025, report published 16 October 2025. It is the only Outstanding location in the set actually registered in St Albans.
• Lowest website-checked live-in from-price: Consultus managed live-in, £1,603 a week. Helping Hands prints £1,675. Trinity publishes from £1,694. The Good Care Group publishes from £256 a day. Unique publishes from £1,855 a week, or £265 a day.

If you want an introductory platform instead of a CQC-inspected agency, that is a different list: best live-in care platforms in the UK. Related: how much live-in care costs, what live-in care consists of and live-in care in Watford.

Match With Care. Our service. Not CQC-registered, different model. Best for choosing and paying your carer directly. We introduce self-employed carers, including live-in; you pick the person and you direct day-to-day care. See home care platforms.

Starling Homecare on Soothouse Spring was registered on 17 December 2025. It prints from £255 a day. It has not been inspected. Home Instead on Long Spring still holds an Outstanding from 25 June 2019. Two St Albans offices. I still do not know how many of Abbots' 871 people had a carer living in.

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We run Match With Care as an introductory care marketplace, not a CQC-registered agency. If you want us to introduce a vetted self-employed live-in carer, see who is available. We will tell you the 15% fee before you choose.