Care and support

What is a ‘deferred payment agreement’?

‘Deferred payment agreements’ mean that people moving into care homes who do not want to sell their homes in their lifetime are not forced to do so. You would have to agree to the local authority placing a legal charge on your property and they will recover the amount they have paid for your care when it is eventually sold. In the meantime, you just meet what you can of the fees based on an assessment of your income. ACS will assist you by paying towards your care fees until your death or until the property is sold. You can choose to rent the property out, in which case the rental income can be used towards the fees and will reduce the amount you have to repay ACS.

If you choose a ‘deferred payment agreement‘, ACS will claim back the outstanding amount that is owed once the property is sold. You will be asked to cover the legal and land registration fees. You may be allowed reasonable expenses to maintain your property, but these would be added to the final sum that you owe. No interest is charged until either 56 days after your death, or until you end the agreement.

You may want to seek independent financial advice before deciding on any of these options.

The choice you make may affect any claim for income support or pension credit (see later section).

What happens to the fees while I am waiting to sell my house or in a deferred payment arrangement?

ACS will pay for the fees in the meantime. You will have to pay them back when the house is sold or when the deferred payment arrangement ends. However, you will not have to pay back the money they paid for the first 12 weeks of your stay.

I have joint capital, how is this affected?

If you are in a care home for a temporary or permanent stay, only your capital is counted. If you have capital in a joint account for example, half is assumed to be yours.

If you are a joint beneficial owner of assets (beneficial ownership is when you have a financial interest in an asset), other than property or land, the value of your share is the total value of those assets divided equally between the number of owners.

You may have joint beneficial interest in property, for example, because you have contributed to the mortgage or because it was bought in your name. The value of your share is only what you could sell your share for on the open market if the other owners aren’t able to buy you out and don’t wish to sell the property. So if you own half a house for example, the market value of your half may be very little if the other joint owner can’t or won’t buy it.