Board and care, personal care or adult family home: same house, different names
Board and care, personal care or adult family home: same house, different names
A small home where adults get a room, meals and help with daily life goes by a different name in almost every state. If you own one, or a house you might rent to an operator, the name tells you which agency you answer to.
This is general information, not legal advice. Always read your own state's current rules.
What the names mean in some states
| State | What it is called | What the rule says |
|---|---|---|
| California | Residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) | Licensed by the Department of Social Services. "Care and supervision" includes help with medications, money management or personal care |
| Georgia | Personal care home | Licensed through the Department of Community Health |
| Pennsylvania | Personal care home | A place providing food, shelter and personal assistance or supervision for more than 24 hours to four or more adults who are not relatives of the operator |
| Washington | Adult family home | Serves up to 6 adults, or up to 8 with department approval |
Michigan's term is adult foster care, and in North Carolina a small home is called a family care home. "Board and care home" and "residential care home" are general names used across many states, so look up the legal term where you are. The same word can mean different things in two states, as "personal care home" shows above.
The question that decides everything: do you provide care?
The line between renting a room and running a care home is usually the service, not the building.
- You rent rooms and someone else provides care, or nobody does. You are likely a landlord, and care rules may not reach you. Do not assume this. Ask.
- You provide meals plus help with daily living, medication or money. You are likely running a care home, and you will probably need a license before the first resident arrives.
Small things can cross the line. Holding a resident's medication or managing their money counts as care under California's definition, for example. Call your state's licensing office, describe exactly what you plan to do, and write down the answer.
If you own the house and an operator runs the care
Many owners never provide care. They lease the house to a licensed operator, or rent rooms to residents while an agency provides services. If that is your model:
- Get a copy of the operator's license and keep it current in your file.
- Say in the lease who is responsible for what: repairs, alarms, inspections, and who pays for what.
- Check your insurance. A home policy may not cover this use.
- Keep your rent records separate from anything about residents' care.
How rent and care money differ
Medicaid home and community-based waivers generally do not pay room and board. So the rent usually comes from the resident's own income, a representative payee, family or a housing program, even when care is fully paid. We cover this in more detail in running the housing side of a group home.
Where Rentology fits
Rentology is built for the rent and the rooms, not the care. A house counts as one property at the normal plan price ($149 a month covers up to 3 properties), plus $6 a month for each room with its own lease. Rent is created every month per resident, and a payee, housing authority or family member can pay through one private page with no login or app, with email receipts and a yearly summary they can print.
If you provide care yourself, you will also need care software. Rentology does not handle care documentation, Medicaid billing or care-home licensing records. You can try it free for 14 days with up to 5 houses.