Deferred payments – paying for care costs from the value of your house

If you have to pay the full cost of your care, and you own your house, we may be able to support you with paying towards the cost through one of our loan-type schemes:

• Deferred Payments Agreement, or
• Letter of Undertaking.

You then repay us when you sell your house or when the agreement ends.

• Who can get funding under these schemes?
• How to apply
• Deferred Payment Agreement and Letter of Undertaking
• Get independent advice about paying for your care

Who can get funding under these schemes?

You can apply if:

• you own your house or property
• you have less than £23,250, excluding the value of your house or property
• we have agreed that you could move to a care home permanently.  That's after we've talked to you about your needs (we call that an 'assessment').
  
  

How to apply

Once we agree the care and support that you need, we'll talk to you about the money side of things.

You can contact us:

We'll send you an application form with relevant information.

Deferred Payment Agreement and Letter of Undertaking

If your application is successful, we'll send your solicitor the formal agreement documents to be signed and returned to us.

You will still need to make assessed payments from your other income or assets, if you have any. We will write to tell you about the contribution you have to make. The care costs you do not pay will be the debt that is deferred and interest will be charged.

Care costs generally increase each year in April and can change if your care and support needs change. We will write to you to let you know the new amount when the cost of your care changes.

Costs of the Deferred Payments Agreement 

There are costs involved during this arrangement:

• our legal costs – £1,000 one-off, paid upon application sent to your nominated solicitor
• Administration charge to set up the arrangement – £450 one-off, paid upon completion of confirmation of security against the property
• Ongoing management fees – £15 weekly, invoiced with your assessed contributions.

Costs of the Letter of Undertaking 

There are costs involved during this arrangement:

• costs to set up the legal agreement – £450 one-off, paid upon application sent your nominated solicitor
• care and support services fee to set up the arrangement – £450 one-off, paid upon confirmation of security against the property
• ongoing management fees – £15 weekly, invoiced with your assessed contributions.

The agreement covers the things we're responsible for.

It also includes the things you're responsible for, including making sure your home is insured and maintained.

You will need to pay interest on the loan, just like if you borrow money from a bank.  The amount of interest is fixed by the government.  We'll send you a statement every 6 months to show the interest and loan amount.

Ending the agreement

You can end the agreement any time but you'd need to repay the borrowed amount straightaway.

If you sell the property, the borrowed amount will need to be repaid then.

If you die, the borrowed amount must be repaid 90 days after your death.

Get independent advice about paying for your care

You can call our free advice service, HertsHelp:

Find more details in our deferred payments factsheet.