Third-party top-up fees
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A third-party top-up fee is the difference between the amount a council is willing to pay a care home and the chosen care home’s fee to self-funding residents.
On this page we tell you about:
1. When third-party top-up fees can be paid
2. Being aware of annual care home fee increases
3. The contract for third-party top-up payments
4. Instances when the local authority may increase the personal budget, so avoiding the necessity of paying a top up
When can third-party top-up fees be paid?
Residents usually can’t pay their own top-up fees (they shouldn’t be able to afford this if they have qualified for local authority funding), so it is a relative, friend or charitable organisation who might pay.
There is no legal requirement for friends, family members or anybody else to agree to pay a third-party top-up and therefore the decision to meet this cost is a voluntary one.
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The only instances where a resident can pay their own top-up fee is if they have entered into a 12-week property disregard or a deferred payment agreement (Northern Ireland excepted).
Instances when paying a top-up fee could be considered are if your relative:
would prefer to live in a care home that costs more than the council is prepared to pay or for genuine extras, such as living in a larger than standard room or with a better view
wants to live in a more expensive area to be closer to family or friends and this wasn’t identified in the needs assessment
was self-funding but is now eligible for local authority funding and wants to stay in the same home, which isn’t contracted to the council, or the council believes your relative's needs could be met in a lower cost care home.
The third party will need to demonstrate they are able to pay the difference between the local authority’s standard rate and the care home’s actual fees.