Care homes

When it comes to care homes, you have the right to choose any care home in England. We can provide you with a list of local options.

You might want to stay close to where you live now, or move nearer to family. You may also want to consider a specialist home run by a religious group.

You can choose to live in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland. It's best to talk to social work staff for advice if you're interested. You need to meet certain conditions to choose your care home. These conditions are:

Suitability of Accommodation

The care home that you choose needs to be registered to meet the needs that you have. Your social worker will tell you which care homes fit your care and support plan.  

Cost

We will find a suitable care home at a cost that we consider reasonable. 

If you accept our placement, then all you will need to pay is the amount set by your financial assessment. 

If you do not accept our placement, you can choose somewhere more expensive. The amount we will pay will be set according to the cost of the placement that was refused. There will be an extra cost that is called a ‘Top-up payment’. This is in addition to the amount set by your financial assessment. 

Terms and conditions

The care home you choose must agree to a contract with the council. This contract gives you a place to stay based on the council's usual terms.

Top-up payments 

Top-up payments are usually paid by a third-party contributor. A contributor can be a relative, friend or charity. A care home resident is only allowed to pay their own top-up in certation situations (see below). 

Top-ups paid by a third-party contributor 

A third-party contributor can pay the top up. The contributor could be a friend, relative or charity. There are some important things you should know about contributors paying top-up costs: 

• The Council  may carry out financial checks to make sure the contributor can afford the top-ups 
• If the cost of the placement increases, the contributor must pay the increased amount towards their top up 
• If the contributor does not keep up with payments, then the resident may have to move to another care home. 

For further information, see Residential and nursing placement choice and top up fees policy.

Paying through resident top-ups

Individuals usually cannot pay their own top-up. This must be covered by someone else, often called a ‘contributor’. This person could be a friend, a relative, or even a charity.

This top-up is paid on top of any client contribution made by the individual towards their care cost. You can only choose to make a top-up yourself in these situations:

• Where you are subject to a 12-week property disregard.
• Where you have got a deferred payment agreement in place.
• Where you receive accommodation under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983. Accommodation under this act is usually free. But you must cover any top-ups. 

You will still be responsible for paying your assessed contribution at all times. The top-up would be in addition to this. You would also need to sign a Top-up agreement. 

There will be cases where a citizen may not have the capacity to express their own choice. We will follow the choices made by the citizen’s court-appointed deputy, lasting power of attorney (LPA), independent mental capacity advocate (IMCA), or legal guardian. This is just like how the Local Authority would act on the citizen’s wishes. But we may not do so if we believe it goes against the citizen's best interests.

Paying through deferred payment agreements

Deferred payment agreements (DPA) help people avoid selling their home to pay for care. We can give DPAs to people who meet the criteria and can provide a first charge on their property.

A DPA offers you a loan from us as the council using your home as security. It doesn’t work in exactly the same way as a conventional loan. We do not give you a fixed sum of money when you join the scheme.

We pay an agreed part of your weekly care and support bill for as long as is necessary. You will pay according to what you can afford from your income and savings.  

We will cover the part of your weekly charge that you can't pay. This continues until your home sells or you pass away, whichever happens first. The part we pay is your ‘deferred payment’.

The deferred payment adds up as debt. This debt is cleared when the money in your home is released. Deferred payments will earn interest just like a regular bank loan does.  

For more information, contact us on 020 8736 6802 or email JAT@harrow.gov.uk.

We have provided an outline of the main options for funding your care. There might be other choices or financial products that suit you better. We always suggest talking to an independent financial adviser. They can help you find the best options for your situation.

Examples of costs