If you have £23,250 or more in property and savings, you have to pay the full cost of the care home fees for accommodation, food and personal care. However, we may be able to help you with this if you are eligible for a deferred payment agreement.

If you have less than £23,250 in property and savings, we can help you complete a financial assessment. You should first apply to us for care and support. After assessing whether you are eligible for support, a financial assessment will look at whether we will be able to help pay for the care home.

A financial assessment may find that you can afford to pay a part of the cost of the care home through your income - this may include benefits and pensions. We may agree to pay the rest of the cost on a weekly basis.

There are many cases in which your property may not be included in your financial assessment. This is known as a property disregard.

Make a payment

You can either pay your part of the cost directly to the care home, or to us.

If you pay the care home directly, you will need to talk to them about:

• how often they need you to pay (for example, every four weeks)
• how you should pay (for example, by direct debit)

If you pay us, we will send you an invoice every 4 weeks.

If you cannot continue to pay

If you or a third party are unable to continue paying the agreed rate for your care home stay, contact us immediately.

We may have to move you to another care home if the current home cannot offer a reduced fee. Your allocated worker will assess the situation and look at alternative care homes that meet your needs and your budget. All family members and carers will be involved in this process.