Fees, reviews and top-ups
How the weekly fee is paid and reviewed, what happens when the council or the NHS pays towards it, and how a top-up works.
A guide, not the contract. This page explains the agreement in plain English. The agreement you sign is the legal document, and it is the agreement that applies if the two ever differ. You are welcome to ask the home manager for a copy to read before you decide, and you may want to take independent legal advice.
How fees are paid
- The agreement sets out one total weekly fee, and who pays which part of it. The parts add up to the total: the resident, a representative, a third party top-up, the local authority, Funded Nursing Care and the NHS.
- The first month’s fees are paid on the move-in date, which is the day we agree the resident moves in.
- After that, fees are collected weekly, every four weeks or monthly, as agreed. We write before the first payment to tell you the date.
- Extras are invoiced when they happen, or at least every four weeks.
- If a payment is late, we contact you first to find out why, and talk to you and your representative.
- We may charge interest on fees more than 14 days late, at the Bank of England base rate, and the reasonable costs of recovering unpaid fees. If you think an invoice is wrong, tell us quickly. We do not charge interest until it is sorted out.
- We may ask for details of the resident’s finances and proof of funding, and ask you to tell us if anything changes. If it does, we will meet you to talk about how it affects the place.
How fees are reviewed
Fees at all of our homes are reviewed once a year, on 1 April.
We write to you at least four weeks before the new fee starts, to tell you the new weekly amount.
The fee can also change at other times, but only for set reasons:
- a significant change in the resident’s care needs, assessed by health professionals. We talk to you and your representative first, and you can see the assessments
- a move to a different room with a different fee, at the resident’s request or for their safety
- a reduction in Funded Nursing Care
- in exceptional cases, such as a major change in law or government policy that sharply raises our costs, we may raise fees at the annual review to reflect it
If the fee goes up because care needs have changed, we usually give four weeks’ written notice. If care has to be put in place at short notice to keep someone safe, we will tell you straight away, and if you do not want to pay the increase you can end the agreement without penalty.
When the council or the NHS pays towards the fees
Many residents have some or all of their care costs paid by their local authority or the NHS. What they pay is set by them, and it is often less than a home’s weekly fee.
Top-ups
Where a council pays less than the home’s weekly fee, we expect the difference to be paid as a third party top-up, so that the weekly fee is met in full.
A top-up is paid by a relative or another third party, not from the resident’s own funds. The person paying signs a separate agreement with us, and for a council-funded place the top-up must always be agreed with the local authority too.
- If the shortfall is for a more expensive room or extra services the resident has chosen, a third party can pay the difference.
- The top-up is reviewed with the annual fee review. If our fee goes up, we agree any change to the top-up with the council or the NHS and the person paying.
- If a top-up is missed we tell the council straight away, because the place may be at risk. If you find you can no longer pay it, please tell us early, so we can talk to the council about the options.
- If a top-up cannot be arranged, we may offer a room at a lower charge if we have one, or the resident or the home may need to end the agreement. We would always talk to you and the funding authority first.
Where the NHS is paying, it fixes what it will pay for assessed healthcare needs. A top-up is only for extras the resident has asked for that are not part of those needs, such as a superior room or additional private services. [CONFIRMATION REQUIRED: check the explanation of NHS-funded top-ups with head office]
If funding changes
If the resident is running low on funds, or their care needs change so that the council or the NHS might pay, tell the home manager and apply for funding as soon as you can. Assessments can take months, so apply no later than three months before you expect to need help.
- If funding is agreed from a date before we were told, the resident pays the full fee up to the date we are told, and gets a refund of what the funding authority paid for the backdated period.
- If the council or the NHS decides the resident is no longer eligible, the full private fee applies from the date the home is notified. If you do not want to pay it, you can end the agreement.
- If the council agrees to pay part of the fee while a property is being sold (a deferred payment agreement), the resident or their representative pays the shortfall from the move-in date.
Holding a room
If someone cannot move in on the agreed date, we can hold the room for a week if they sign a reservation agreement and pay a reservation fee. The fee is not refundable. If the delay is our fault, for example the room is not ready, we hold the room at no charge.
While a resident is away, including in hospital, the room is kept for them as long as the fees are paid. Read about absences and hospital stays.
Common questions
Who can pay a top-up?
A relative or another third party. They sign a separate agreement, and for a council-funded place the top-up must also be agreed with the local authority.
Will the top-up go up?
It can. When the annual fee review raises the home’s fee, the top-up may change to reflect the difference between the new fee and what the funding authority pays. We agree any change with the funding authority and the person paying first, and we give four weeks’ written notice.
Can I get advice on funding?
The manager can explain how funding works in general. For advice on your own situation, speak to the local authority or an independent adviser.
Keep reading
What the weekly fee includes
What is covered by the weekly fee, and what is an extra.
Trial period, notice and leaving
The four-week trial, how notice works, and what happens when someone leaves.
Your residency agreement, explained
Who signs, how the agreement is laid out, and what to do before you sign.
Want to talk it through?
The manager at your nearest home can go through the agreement with you, with no pressure to decide.