Everyone living in a care home has to pay something towards the cost. If we assess you as needing residential care you may be eligible for financial help towards the cost. How much you pay depends on how much money you have. If you have:

• more than £23,250 in savings and assets (capital) then you will pay for the full cost of your care
• less than £23,250 in savings and assets (capital) then we will carry out a financial assessment. This will tell us how much you can afford to pay

See The cost of care in Surrey to find out average residential care costs.

If you own your own home

If you are a temporary resident we will not include the value of the home you live in. If you own any property or land other than the home you live in, we will take the value of that into account.

If we take your home into account we will ignore its value for up to 12 weeks. This starts from the date you first became a permanent resident. If you own a second property we will take the value of that into account from the date of admission.

For more on this see What happens to my home.

Top-up fees

A top-up is the difference between what we will pay and the cost of the home you choose. If you want to move to a more expensive home, you will need to find someone to pay the difference.

Family or friends can pay it on your behalf. If we are taking your property into account and you can afford to, you can pay it yourself. You must be able to prove that the person paying the top-up can continue make payments while you live in the home.

For more on this see What are care home top-up fees from Age UK.

Files available to download

• Paying for care - an information guide for people living in Surrey (PDF)
  This booklet provides information on the different types of care and support services Adult Social Care charge for and what services are free