We won’t count your home within your assessment if you:
- receive care and support at home
- go into a care home on a short-term or temporary basis
If you plan to move into a care home permanently, we won’t count your home if it's still occupied by:
- your partner or former partner, unless they are estranged from you
- your estranged or divorced partner if they are also a lone parent
- a relative who is aged 60 or over
- a relative who is disabled
- a child of yours aged under 18
If your property is going to be included in the permanent care home means test, we must ignore it for the first 12 weeks of your care unless you have already self-funded your placement for more than 12 weeks. This is to give you space to decide what to do with your property and paying fees, for example whether to enter into a deferred payment agreement.
A deferred payment scheme can be useful if you have savings of less than £23,250 and all your money is tied up in your property.
Under this scheme Solihull Council pays for your care home fees and it is repaid later when you choose to sell your home, or after your death.
Some people consider giving their property to someone else, such as a child or relative, so that it won’t be counted in the means test. However, this may count as deprivation of assets, meaning you’d still have to pay the same level of care fees as if you still owned your home.