Moving into residential care

This only applies if you are, or will be, going into a residential care home.

If you meet our eligibility criteria for help and you own, or part own, the property that you live in, we will normally take its value into account as part of the financial assessment.

However, your home won't be counted as capital if certain people still live there.

They include:

• your husband, wife, partner or civil partner
• a close relative who is 60 or over, or incapacitated
• any child(ren) you have under the age of 18

If your relative stops living in the property, we will take its value into account at that time.

Funding your care

Should you choose to sell your property, the proceeds from the sale will be taken into account as part of your capital.

If you choose to keep your property, you can apply to us for a Deferred Payment Agreement. This is a loan from us, secured on your property, and will help to pay your care home costs. If you don't want (or are not eligible for) a Deferred Payment Agreement, you will need to find some other way to meet the full cost of your care home.

We will contribute the difference between your income and the care home fee for up to 12 weeks from the date of you going into the home. This gives you time to make choices about how you would like to pay for your care after these 12 weeks. Usually this would be either paying the full cost of the care yourself, or taking out a Deferred Payment Agreement with us.