Cost scenario

Children's home registration cost by region

Direct Ofsted registration fees do not vary by region. Whether the home is in central London or rural Northumberland, a 1–3 bed home pays £1,672 in registration fee plus a flat £910 Registered Manager fitness fee, and a 4-or-more-beds home pays £3,284 plus the same £910. Those numbers come from the statutory fee order and are reviewed annually.

Where regional variance hits hard is in the setup cost lines underneath the Ofsted fee. Property is the largest delta — a conversion in inner London easily clears £100,000 in works and deposit, while the equivalent property in the North East can come in under £50,000. Staffing is the second largest delta: waking-night and weekend-shift wages in London and the South East are 25–40% above the national average, and even mid-career registered manager salaries vary materially. Fire safety vendor rates and specialist insurance also drift regionally because contractor density and claims history differ.

The notes below are indicative — not a guarantee for your property — but capture the broad regional shape we see in founder financial plans. Use them alongside the calculator to stress-test your model against the upper and lower property bands.

• London

  Highest property and staffing costs in England. A 4-bed conversion typically falls in the £100,000+ deposit/works band, and waking-night staff salaries clear £14/hour. Local authority placement fees are also the highest, which partly offsets the higher cost base.

• South East

  Property costs sit just below London but staffing is comparable in commuter belts (Surrey, Berkshire, Kent). Fire safety vendor rates are competitive due to higher contractor density.

• South West

  Property costs are mid-range nationally; staffing is materially lower than London/SE. Rural areas can have longer recruitment lead times for qualified registered managers.

• East of England

  Mixed picture: Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire mirror SE costs, while parts of Norfolk and Suffolk sit closer to East Midlands rates. Property costs in coastal areas are notably lower.

• West Midlands

  Birmingham and the Black Country offer some of the strongest cost-to-placement-fee ratios in England. Property in well-positioned suburbs runs £60,000–£90,000 conversion-ready, and there's a deep pool of trained residential care staff.

• East Midlands

  Lower property and staffing costs than the South. Fire safety and insurance roughly track national averages. Strong economics for first-time providers without a London-specific commissioner.

• Yorkshire and the Humber

  Among the lowest property bands nationally. Sheffield, Leeds, and Bradford have well-established residential childcare workforces, which keeps recruitment costs down. Local authorities in this region commission heavily, which is a meaningful demand-side factor.

• North West

  Manchester, Liverpool, and Greater Manchester have a similar profile to West Midlands: moderate property costs, strong staff supply, and active LA commissioning. Cumbria and rural Lancashire are cheaper still on property but harder for staffing.

• North East

  Lowest property costs in England — Newcastle, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough conversions can come in below £50,000. Staffing costs are the lowest in the country, but distance from the major London LA commissioners means the placement-side has to come from local LAs.

The interactive calculator below uses national midpoint figures for property and setup costs. Treat its property band as a North/Midlands/Yorkshire baseline and add 30–60% for inner London and the South East commuter belt. For the line-by-line breakdown including consultant alternatives, see the full cost calculator.