Housing information

[Joey35]

Hi, I’m looking for information and advice on housing matters. My parents put their house in trust and now my Dad has died, my mum wants to move closer to me. I’m not keen to sell, buy and sell again. My no. 1 option is to get her into a Council run sheltered scheme which is on my doorstep. This is purpose built accommodation in n the perfect location. If we do sell, I’ll have to get a new place lined up and there is very little on the market in her price range where I live. Other options are private rented but may not be accessible (fine now but maybe not long term). Or sheltered which is possible but expensive and I’m not sure what would happen if she needs care later on and can’t afford it. Can anyone help or advise? I’m trying to get a social services referral for the Council option but no idea if this will work out or how long it will take or even if she is eligible!

 

[Louise7]

Hello @Joey35 this is a difficult situation to comment on as it is dependent on how the Trust is structured and whether your mum has other income,savings, assets. If your mum reaches the stage that she requires help from carers but is unable to fund this herself then social service can conduct a care needs assessment to determine the level of help required, followed by a financial assessment to see whether she would be eligible for financial help towards her care, and if so how much. If your mum reached the point where she was deemed to require a care home - and was considered to be able to fund her care herself - at the point when her savings dropped below £23,250 (in England) then the local authority would conduct a financial assessment and if eligible they would help towards your mum's care fees. The factsheets below may be helpful in explaining the assessment process.

I imagine that the council might well have an income/savings eligibility criteria in relation to giving someone a place in a council run sheltered scheme, plus there may be difficulties involved if your mum is currently living within a different council area. There might be some members here who have experience of Trusts and this situation but local authorities do quite often have their own different processes regarding treatment of assets so it may be best to contact your local authority financial assessment team to talk through what you are proposing and get their views on the situation. Hope this helps.

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-s...assessment-care-support-england#content-start

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/legal-financial/paying-for-care

 

[nita]

I have a feeling that you can't move into council-run sheltered housing accommodation when you already own or have an interest in a house. Otherwise, I would be looking at that option for myself. I think you need to refer to your Mum's council housing policy which may be on their website as I found our council's there.

 

[Joey35]

Thanks @nita & @Louise7 this is useful information that will help me investigate further. Appreciate the responses.