Who can have a deferred payment agreement?

To be able to enter into a deferred payment agreement, you must:

• be assessed by a social care worker as needing residential care;
• be currently living or going to live permanently in a registered residential care or nursing home;
• own or partly own your home;
• have savings and investments of £23,250 or less (not including the value of your main or only home); and
• have the mental capacity to enter into a deferred payment agreement or have a legally-appointed person who is willing to do this for you.

We will need to take account of any other interests in the property when deciding how much you can borrow. For example, another person may have a legal share in your home or some of the value may be tied up in a mortgage or an equity-release scheme. If this is the case, that person or company will need to give their permission before we can offer you a deferred payment.

You will not be able to enter into a deferred payment agreement if your home is not counted in the financial assessment of how much you can pay towards the cost of your care.

The value of your home will not normally be included in the financial assessment if:

• you have lived in a care home for less than 12 weeks as a permanent resident;
• you are only staying in a care home temporarily;
• your partner, a child under 18 or a relative (as defined in the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014) who is over 60 or disabled still lives in your home; or
• you are receiving care in your own home rather than living in a residential care home.