How to fund temporary care accommodation

A local authority can agree that your parent staying in a care home on a temporary basis for up to 52 weeks,  or longer in exceptional circumstances.

If the local authority arranges a temporary stay in a care home, they can  ask your relative to contribute towards the cost either by applying a means test straightaway, or, for the first eight weeks, they can ask for an amount they consider reasonable for your relative  to contribute. After eight weeks, it must apply the means test, but it still has to take account of the differences for temporary and permanent residents

What constitutes the first 8 weeks of care?

The eight-week period applies to individual periods of care, not regular periods of respite care separated by time at home.

When the local authority does eventually carry out the financial assessment means test, the same upper and lower capital limits, £23,250 and £14,250, apply as for permanent residents.

There are some differences in the rules for temporary residents:

The assessment by the local authority must ignore:

• the value of your parent’s  home if they intend to return to live there  and it is still available for them to do so, or if they are selling it to buy something more suitable instead
• some income to enable payment of bills at home, i.e. water rates, insurance, fuel etc.
• any help with housing costs from Pension Credit  your parent gets whilst living in in their own home
• any Housing Benefit that they usually receive while living in their own home
• any Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Care component or Personal Independence Payment Daily Living Allowance

Other capital and income will be included in the means test. If the amounts the local authority ignores from income means your relative cannot pay their bills at home, you can ask for a review assessment or complain to the local authority using its complaints procedure.

What happens when one half of a couple enters a care home temporarily?

Where one of a couple enters a care home on a temporary basis, Pension Credit is still calculated and paid at the rate for a couple rather than the rate for two single people (as it is for Income Support and Income-related Employment and Support Allowance). Local authorities must ensure that the partner remaining at home receives, as a minimum, the basic level of Pension Credit for a single person and any additional amounts to which they may be entitled in their own right.

For temporary stays, tariff income will be applied to any capital which your parents have above £10,000 as a couple, (not £10,000 each).

What happens when temporary care becomes permanent or vice versa?

Sometimes care is arranged on a temporary basis, but ultimately needs to become permanent. If so, then the local authority will apply the means test for a permanent resident from the stay in a care home becomes permanent. The value of any owned property should be disregarded for 12 weeks from the date the stay becomes permanent. Sometimes, a stay assessed as permanent can just be temporary if your parent can return home, or stay with family or move into sheltered accommodation. If so, the Department of Health sates it is unreasonable to continue to apply any rules that would have affected your parent as a permanent resident

Your relative might be a temporary resident because they went into a  home on a ‘trial’ basis, but be careful, as some local authorities may treat a trial period as permanent when it comes to charging for it. They should still take into consideration financial commitments at home by increasing the Personal Expenses Allowance.

Housing Benefit, Pension Credit housing costs or Council Tax Reduction for your relative’s own home, can only be paid for 13 weeks if they are having a trial period in a care home. If they decide to stay in the care home and do not return home, then they will still be eligible for Housing Benefit for a 13-week period. 1 At the end 13 weeks, they may also be eligible for a further 4 weeks Housing Benefit to enable them to give notice to tenancy , if applicable.

What happens about intermediate/re-enablement care?

If your parent is having short-term treatment, following a period in hospital, or to avoid having to go into hospital, it will be provided free of charge. There is normally a limit of six weeks. Re-enablement care can be called different things, so check your parent is not being wrongly charge durig such a six week period.

More information on funding care is available HERE