Deferred payments
If you are moving into a care home you may be able to defer the payments until a later date if we have assessed that you must contribute towards the cost of your care.
If you meet the criteria we can help to pay your care home bills on your behalf. You can delay repaying us until you choose to sell your home, or until after your death.
You would need to sign a deferred payment agreement to receive deferred payments from us.
A deferred payment agreement is an arrangement with the council that enables you to use the value of your home to help pay care home costs.
We'll need to charge you for costs associated with the deferred payment agreement, including:
- interest on the amount owed
- legal costs
- administration costs
We recommend you seek independent financial advice before you enter into a deferred payment agreement. You can download a list of Independent Financial Advisors (PDF, 81kb).
To be considered for a deferred payments agreement you'll need to:
- meet the eligibility criteria, and
- provide adequate security for the debt (for example we're able to obtain a first legal mortgage charge on your property; if your property isn't registered with the Land Registry you'll need to arrange for it to be registered at your own expense)
We'll consider whether you're eligible for deferred payments when we complete a financial assessment with you.
Eligibility criteria
We can offer you a deferred payment agreement if you meet all of the criteria below:
- you have needs which will be met by the provision of care in a care home; we'll determine this when we assess your care and support needs
- you have capital assets (excluding your home) of less than £23,250
- you must own or have part legal ownership of a property, which isn't subject to a property disregard (for qualifying criteria for property disregards, see Annex B - Property disregards, of the Care and support Statutory Guidance)
- you must either live in Southwark or live in, or due to move to, a care home which will be partially funded by Southwark Council
Page last updated: 12 August 2022
