Six-Bed Assisted Living Homes in Deltona, Palm Coast and Beyond

What is a small residential ALF?

A small residential ALF is usually a single-family house converted to care for a handful of residents, often six. It holds the same AHCA assisted living license under Part I of Chapter 429 as a 150-bed building, follows the same admission rules and the same weekly staff-hour minimums, and is inspected by AHCA.

The differences are practical. Residents share a living room and kitchen, meals are cooked at home, and one or two caregivers are on duty for most of the day. Homes with fewer than 17 residents may have staff sleeping on site overnight instead of awake.

Where are they?

Palm Coast and Deltona lead because both are large, mostly residential cities with affordable single-family homes, exactly the setting these businesses look for. The beachside cities have few, because condominiums and high land prices make the model harder.

Source: AHCA FloridaHealthFinder locator, retrieved November 6, 2026.

Who does well in a small home?

People who are overwhelmed by large buildings, people with dementia who do better with a small, consistent group, and people who need a lot of hands-on help and benefit from the higher daytime ratio often do well. Small homes are also frequently less expensive, and some accept residents receiving Optional State Supplementation.

People who want a busy social life, outings and a big activity calendar may find a small home too quiet, and those whose needs may grow toward nursing care should ask whether the home holds an LNS license (a few do) or will need to issue a discharge notice later.

How do you check a small home?

Look up the license on FloridaHealthFinder or in our directory: it shows the license number, capacity, status, specialty licenses and any sanctions. Because AHCA does not post searchable inspection histories for small homes the way it does for larger ones, ask the operator for the most recent survey report and plan of correction.

On the visit, meet the person who will be on duty at night, ask whether they are awake, and find out who covers when the main caregiver is off. Ask about the generator or backup power plan, how medications are stored and given, and how the home handles a resident who falls at 3 a.m.

How do costs compare with larger buildings?

No public source publishes prices for small homes, so comparisons have to come from written quotes. In general, small homes charge a single monthly rate that includes most personal care, while large buildings often start with a base rent and add care-level fees as needs grow. That difference can make a small home cheaper for someone who needs a lot of help, and a large building cheaper for someone who needs very little.

Ask every home for its full monthly price at your parent's current level of need, what is not included (incontinence supplies, transport to appointments, special diets), how much notice is given before a rate change, and whether it accepts long-term care insurance, VA benefits or Optional State Supplementation. Get the answers in writing and compare them side by side with a larger building's quote before deciding.

One more practical point: because small homes rely on so few people, staff changes affect residents quickly. Ask how long the current caregivers have worked there, and drop by unannounced once after move-in to see the home on an ordinary day.

Red flags

Be cautious about a home that cannot show its AHCA license, has more residents than its license allows, discourages unannounced visits, or cannot say who is on duty overnight. Any house caring for unrelated adults without an AHCA license is operating illegally; report it to AHCA at 1-888-419-3456.

Every licensed small home appears as a row on our assisted living roster, filterable by city.