Help with care home costs

If you own your home you can apply for a loan from the council to help pay for care or nursing home costs.

Deferred payment scheme

Our deferred payment scheme is a type of loan for homeowners to help pay for care home costs.  It is for people who cannot afford to pay for care because all of their money is tied up in their homes.

Check if you qualify

To qualify, you will need:

• a care needs assessment that shows you need to live permanently in a care home 
• to have less than £23,250 in other savings and investments, not including your home
• to own or part own a property that isn’t benefitting from a property disregard

Before securing any loan against your home, you should get independent financial advice.

What we mean by property disregard

When you’re moving into a care home that is organised and paid for by us, we don’t count the value of your property for the first 12 weeks. We call this the 12-week property disregard. 

How it works

You will not get a fixed sum of money like a normal loan. We pay an agreed amount every week towards the cost of your care on the condition that you’ll repay us when you sell your home. This might be when you choose to sell your home or after you’ve died.

You can also repay us from another source if you want to. 

Interest charges

We charge interest on your loan and secure it against the value of your home. The maximum interest rate is fixed by the government. This charge is based on the cost of government borrowing and will change on 1 January and 1 July every year.

Costs

At your own expense, you will need:

• to register your property with the Land Registry
• to get a formal valuation of your property 
• to be able to insure your property 
• keep the property in good condition to retain its value 

There is also a one-off legal cost to cover the council's costs. 

You will need to be able to make your own financial decisions or have a legally appointed agent willing to agree to this.

Terms of Agreement

You must meet the above criteria to apply for this scheme. 

The valuation of your property must show that there is enough equity to cover any outstanding debt that would be accrued.

We must also be able to obtain a first or second legal charge on your property. Your application will be refused if we are not able to do this. We will not accept any other securities.

You can get more information about the terms of the agreement for deferred payments on GOV.UK (chapter 9).

Help to understand

If you need someone to help you with your financial assessment, you could ask:

• a friend or family member to represent you
• an advocate to help you understand 

You will need to sign the form if you are able to. 

Get financial advice from an expert

We are not allowed to give you any advice about your money and paying for care. We strongly recommend seeking independent financial advice from an expert. 

You can speak to the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) by calling 0333 2020 454. They may charge a fee for their services. 

How to apply

You will need to contact our financial assessment team to find out more or to get an application form.