Paying for residential care

Eligibility Information

Care and support is not a free service like the NHS, and most people will pay at least something towards the cost of their social care support.
If you have under £23,250 in savings - what you pay will depend on your personal financial circumstances such as: income, benefits, savings and any property you own. Nottingham City Council will carry out a financial assessment to decide what someone can afford to pay.

If you have over £23,250 in savings - you are classed as self funding & will need to contact the care home directly. For additional help finding a suitable care home please visit carehome.co.uk or ASKLiON Residential Care Listings

Self-funding your residential care

You are referred to as a self-funder if you pay the full cost for your care and support direct to the care home.

You will be considered to be a self-funder if any of the following apply to you:

• Your care needs have been assessed, and you are eligible for social care support but your savings or assets are above £23,250
• You have chosen not to be financially assessed by the Council
• Your care and support needs have been assessed but you are not currently eligible for social care support

It is a good idea to get independent financial advice if you are making decisions about paying for care. Details of organisations that may be able to help you can be found at:

• ASKLiON FCA Approved Listings
• ASKLiON Money Support
• Money Helper

Two assessments must be carried out:

The first determines what your care needs are and these are done by Health professional and Occupational therapists - More information see our Social Care Needs Assessment pages.The second looks at your financial circumstances, to determine how much you will have to contribute to any care you receive. You can start this step now with the easy-to-use Online Financial Assessment Tool.

If you choose not to have a financial assessment, the council will assume that you can pay for all of the costs yourself. 

For more details and to print information of paying for care and support, you can download our fact sheet below

Paying For Care And Support

The Deferred Payment Scheme (DPS) helps people in care homes who can’t pay their fees upfront because their money is tied up in property or land. 

People who own their own home, are moving into a Care Home long-term and have savings below £23,250 can apply to use the value of their property to pay a proportion of their Care Home fees through a Deferred Payment Agreement with the Council.

A Deferred Payment Agreement allows you to keep your home for longer if you do not want to sell your home immediately or it proves difficult to do so.

A Deferred Payment Agreement is a long-term loan from the Council that enables you to use the value of your home to pay for care home fees. As the Council secures the loan against your property the money does not have to be paid back until you choose to sell the home or after your death. Since a Deferred Payment Agreement is a loan, it must be paid back, including interest and administration fees.

Deferred Payment Factsheet

If you would like to apply for a Deferred Payment Agreement in Nottingham City, please contact Adult Residential Services:
Call: 0115 876 3672 
Email: adultresidential.services@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

What is a third-party top-up fee?

If the Council is funding a Care Home placement there is a maximum amount that it will pay based on local agreed rates and the citizen’s care needs assessment. The top-up is the difference between the amount the Council will pay and the charge made by the Care Home for the services provided.

If you choose a home that's more expensive than the amount the Council has agreed to pay, you can still move there as long as someone, such as a family member (the third-party), agrees to pay the difference (the top-up fee). Sometimes the top-up is applied for a larger room or other additional facilities at the Care Home. 

You won’t be asked for a top-up fee if you've moved into a more expensive Care Home out of need rather than preference. The care needs assessment is used to understand your needs.

If you are unable to pay a top-up fee you should check that the Care Home accepts local standard funding rates.

Who can pay the top-up fee?

Third-party top-up fees have to be paid by someone other than the person living in care. This will usually be a family member or friend (the third-party). They will be asked to sign a contract to confirm their agreement to make this financial contribution.

The third party agrees to make the top-up payments from the date of admission. It is an ongoing financial commitment until the placement at the Care Home ends.

It is important to get financial advice before agreeing to pay someone’s top-up fees, and consider how price increases or changes in circumstances might impact your ability to pay.

The person living in care cannot usually make their own top-up payments, however, there are a few exceptions when it may be possible. In these limited circumstances the Adult Residential Services team will explain this at the time of the financial assessment.    

How do I make top-up payments?

In order to protect the placement in the Care Home the Council will pay the home and then the cost of the top-up fee will be billed to the third-party on a four-weekly basis. Details of payment options are shown on the invoice.  

What happens if the top-up is not paid?

If the top up fee is unpaid for a period of more than 8 weeks following the payment due date the Council has the right to arrange for an alternative residential placement for the citizen and recover any amounts that are unpaid under the terms of the agreement.

Can the amount of the top-up change?

The top-up fee can only be amended by the Care Home, after consultation with Nottingham City Council and the third-party. A new Financial Agreement will need to be signed by the third-party to confirm the details of the change.  

If you would like to discuss a top-up payment please contact Adult Residential Services:
Call: 0115 876 3672
Email: adultresidential.services@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Many organisations will provide free, general advice about funding care and support. These are a good place to start if you are looking for information and want to see what sort of options is available to you:

• Age UK
• Citizens Advice
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Department of Health Care and Support Statutory Guidance
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Financial Conduct Authority
• How to pay for care and support, and where you can get help with costs (NHS)
• Money Advice Service (MAS)
• Money (Ask Lion) - Nottingham City Directory
• Office of the Public Guardian and Court of Protection
• Paying for Care
• Personal Assistants and Direct Payments (ASKLiON)

How we collect and use information

We will use the information you give, and any supporting evidence you send, to process your Financial Assessment regarding Residential or Non-Residential services you currently are or will be receiving.

Nottingham City Council has a duty to protect public funds and also to ensure the information is accurate and to prevent or detect crime. We may verify or share information you have provided, or information you have provided about someone else for the purposes mentioned with the Department for Works and Pensions as allowed by the law.

We will not give information about you to anyone else, or use information about you for other purposes, unless the law allows this.

Contact details for the Data Controller (for the purpose of the UK general GDPR 2016 and Data Protection Act 2018):

You can contact the data protection officer at:

The Data Protection Officer: Naomi Matthews.

Information Compliance Team
Nottingham City Council
Loxley House,
Station Street,
Nottingham,
NG2 3NG

Email: Information Compliance.

Further Information

For more information about these rights please refer to our detailed privacy statement at:
Nottingham City Council Privacy Notice - Nottingham City Council