Once you are in a care home permanently, the value of your interest in your former home will be included unless it has been continuously occupied in part or whole before you first moved in is still occupied by:
- your spouse
- your partner
- an estranged or divorced partner if she/he is a lone parent with a dependent child
- a relative who is 60 or over
- a relative who is incapacitated
- your child who is under 18.
We may conclude a relative is “incapacitated” if the relative is receiving one (or more) of the following benefits:
- Incapacity Benefit
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance
- Personal Independence Payments
- Armed Forces Independence Payments
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- or a similar benefit.
If the relative does not receive any disability related benefit but the extent of incapacity is equivalent to that required to qualify for such a benefit, medical or other evidence may be needed before a decision is reached.
If your home can’t be disregarded then the value of your interest in your former home will be added to your other assets and savings.
We will ignore the value of your former main or only home in the financial assessment for the first 12 weeks of a permanent stay provided:
- you own your former main or only home
- our assessment determined you have eligible care needs, and
- the assessed care needs are best met in a care home, and
- your capital (excluding the value of your former main or only home) is below £23,250.
If your stay was initially temporary, the 12 weeks start from the date it is decided it is permanent.
This 12-week period aims to give you time so you can decide how best to pay for your care and whether or not to sell your home.
This is called a ‘12-week property disregard’
You are not entitled to the 12-week property disregard if you have been living permanently in a care home for longer than 12 weeks when you approached us for assistance towards paying the care fees.
If you have been living permanently in the care home less than 12 weeks, the property disregard period is adjusted. For example, if you were permanent in the care home for nine weeks when you approached us for a care needs assessment, provided you have eligible care needs and the decision is your care needs are best met in care home, the property disregard period will be three weeks.
During the 12-week property disregard period, you will still be assessed against your income and other assets and will be liable to pay a charge based on these.
If your former main or only home is sold before the 12-week property disregard period ends, the released capital is not disregarded and is included in the financial assessment from the date the sale completes.
When working out the value of your interest in your former home, we will deduct any mortgages etc. still outstanding and 10% of the costs associated with sale.
