What Is a Live-In Domestic Couple? Roles, Duties & Life in Private Service
A domestic couple is two people — usually partners — who live and work together in a private household. The employer provides your salary, accommodation, and pays utility bills. In return, you keep the home running smoothly and the family’s life running even more smoothly.
Craig & Kirsten Bruun — this guide is built on twenty years in private service. Read our story →
Watch: What Does a Domestic Couple Actually Do?
This short video covers the key questions people ask before applying for their first live-in couple role.
- 0:00 — What do domestic couples do?
- 1:16 — Housekeeping and laundry
- 2:27 — Cooking
- 3:20 — Maintenance and property
- 3:57 — Gardening
- 4:37 — Driving
- 5:18 — Animals and pets
- 5:59 — Is this the right career for you?
What Does a Live-In Domestic Couple Actually Do?
Every household is different, but the goal is always the same: keep things running so that your employer barely has to think about their home. The duties below are the most common across the UK market.
| Area of Work |
What It Involves in Practice |
| Housekeeping |
Daily cleaning, polishing, laundry, and ironing. In formal homes this follows a precise schedule; in others it is more flexible. |
| Cooking |
Ranges from children’s lunches and simple family meals to more formal dinner parties. Not all roles include cooking — always clarify before interview. |
| Property Maintenance |
Basic repairs, checking alarms, managing outside contractors (plumbers, electricians), and overseeing listed building obligations on historic properties. |
| Gardening |
In London, typically window boxes and balcony planters. In rural roles, you may assist a head gardener with grounds, fields, and outbuildings. |
| Driving |
Airport runs, school runs, errands, and transporting guests. City roles often involve luxury vehicles; rural employers sometimes provide a car for your own use. |
| Pet Care |
Feeding, walking, grooming, and vet appointments. Being an animal lover is a genuine advantage — for many employers, care of their pets matters more than almost anything else. |
| Security & Property Watch |
Simply being there when your employer is away. A live-in couple prevents burst pipes, break-ins, and the dozens of small problems that empty houses collect. |
“You are entrusted with another person’s loved ones, home, and pets — which is a huge responsibility. But when you find employers who appreciate you and treat you with respect, this can be one of the best jobs you will ever have.”
— Craig & Kirsten Bruun
The Live-In Accommodation Explained
The live-in element is what makes this both a job and a lifestyle. Your accommodation is tied directly to your employment — and in the UK, that means utilities and council tax are included as standard. If anyone asks you to pay these, that is not normal practice.
Depending on the property, you might live in one of two ways:
- Away from the main house — a detached cottage, converted barn, or annexe above a garage. Most common in rural roles on larger estates.
- Inside the main house — a private wing, staff floor, or converted basement flat. More common in London townhouses and period properties.
A two-bedroom cottage in the South East, with all bills covered, saves you roughly £31,000 a year compared to renting privately — which means the real-world value of a live-in role is far higher than the headline salary suggests. See the full salary and package breakdown →
Go Deeper: Guides for Domestic Couples
This page gives you an overview. The guides below cover each topic in full detail.
How We Got Our First Job at Allington Castle
Two people with no experience, no connections, and a twenty-pound Volvo. This is the true story of how we landed our first live-in role in 2005 — and what we learned from it.
Read Our Story →
What Is It Like Working as a Domestic Couple?
The honest account of what live-in domestic couple work actually feels like day to day — the lifestyle, the relationship dynamics, the accommodation, and whether it is right for you.
Read the Full Guide →
Salaries & Package Value
2026 salary ranges, the true value of accommodation, and how a £70,000 live-in role compares to earning £116,000 in a conventional job.
View Salary Guide →
Accommodation, Dependants & Pets
The rules around live-in housing, bringing children, and whether your pet can come with you — and how to raise the subject without losing the job.
View Accommodation Guide →
London vs Countryside Roles
Why domestic couple roles are concentrated in London and rural estates — and why you will not find them advertised in Manchester, Birmingham, or other UK cities.
View City vs Country Guide →
How to Find Genuine Jobs
How to search Google for Jobs effectively, spot fake listings, and register so that employers can find you — even when no advert is live.
View Job Search Guide →
Skills, CV & Getting Started
How to get your first role with no experience, which transferable skills matter most, and what to put on your CV to stand out.
View Skills Guide →
Contracts, Rights & Working Hours
What your contract must include, your rights as a live-in employee, typical working hours, and what “flexible hours” really means in practice.
View Contracts Guide →
Working With Agencies
The best UK private staffing agencies for domestic couple roles, how they work, what they expect, and which ones are worth registering with.
View Agency Guide →
Who Hires Domestic Couples? Understanding Wealth Categories
Job adverts frequently use terms like HNW and UHNW to describe the principal. Here is what they mean in practice, and what each level typically involves for staff.
| Wealth Category |
What It Means |
Typical Domestic Couple Role |
HNW
High Net Worth |
Liquid assets of £1 million+ |
You and your partner do most things between you. Often the only staff. |
UHNW
Ultra High Net Worth |
Liquid assets of £30 million+ |
Part of a larger team alongside butlers, chefs, housekeepers, and chauffeurs. |
| Billionaire |
Assets of £1 billion+ |
Multiple estates, sometimes a family office. A domestic couple may be placed permanently at one property. |
Is This the Right Career for You?
Live-in domestic work suits people who are naturally tidy, self-motivated, and happy to get on with things without being told twice. You live where you work, which means the boundaries between job and home life are different — not worse, just different.
The lifestyle suits couples who enjoy a quieter rhythm to their day, value financial stability over a large social calendar, and genuinely take pride in how a home looks and runs. It is less well suited to anyone who needs constant outside stimulation, struggles to maintain professional boundaries at home, or expects the job to feel like a nine-to-five.
Neither of us had any formal training when we started. What carried us through twenty years was being reliable, being discreet, and genuinely caring about the homes and families we worked for. Those things matter far more than any qualification. Read the full account of what the work is really like →
Ready to Find a Domestic Couple Role?
Many employers never advertise a vacancy. Instead, they search the register for couples who match what they need. By adding your profile to our jobs board, you become visible to those employers even when nothing is live.
Register Your Profile Free
Search Live Vacancies
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a live-in domestic couple?
A live-in domestic couple is two people — usually partners — who live and work together in a private household. They are employed to manage the home, grounds, and the day-to-day needs of the family. Accommodation and bills are provided as part of the package.
What salary does a domestic couple earn in the UK?
Combined salaries typically range from £60,000 to £100,000, depending on location, the size of the household, and experience. Because accommodation and bills are included, the real-world value of the package is significantly higher than the headline salary suggests. See the full salary and package breakdown →
Do you need experience to become a domestic couple?
Most households prefer experience, but attitude and reliability matter just as much. Every domestic couple started somewhere. Transferable skills from hospitality, catering, maintenance, or any role requiring teamwork and initiative all count. We found our first live-in role with no formal domestic experience at all — read how →
Can you bring children or pets to a live-in domestic couple role?
Most roles do not allow dependants or pets, but it is not impossible. The key is to find out before you apply. If the advert does not mention it and it is a dealbreaker for you, ask directly rather than waste time on an application that cannot work. We cover this topic in full on our Accommodation, Dependants & Pets page.
Why are most domestic couple jobs in London or the countryside?
Domestic couple roles require the kind of wealth that supports a large private household. In the UK, that concentration of wealth exists in two places: London (Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Kensington, Chelsea) and the rural county estates of the Home Counties, Cotswolds, and similar areas. Other UK cities simply do not have the same density of principals who employ private household staff. We explore this in detail on our London vs Countryside Roles page.
How do I find genuine domestic couple job vacancies?
The market is smaller than most people realise. General job boards list hundreds of results, but the vast majority are not genuine live-in couple roles. Specialist private staffing agencies carry the real vacancies — typically fewer than ten London roles are live at any one time. Registering on a dedicated board like live-in-jobs.co.uk also puts you in front of employers who search for candidates without advertising. See our full job search guide →