Fair Deal/Nursing Homes Right of Residency query on fees paid.

B

Ballybrone

Registered User
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Following scenario.

In 2016 a lone parent my dad needed to go into a nursing home and was approved under the deal scheme and his private residence was assessed as means in the calculation as a (copy of the will could not be obtained from solicitor to see the wording but we his siblings believed that he may have written in a right of residency clause to allow him stay in the house till his death and that once he died my sister would get the house which I'm fine with ).

Me his son paid the nursing home bill and claimed the tax relief .The bill was largest for the first 3 years due to the 7.5% of value of his private residence. Once 3 years passed the HSE redid the calculations to remove his residence.

Anyhow I will be sitting with his solicitor in 2 weeks to read his will and If the wording of his will which was written at least 10 years ago does have a right of residence clause in it would I have any comeback to seek a refund from the HSE for overpayment of fees. Basically it was about €9k per year for first 3 years based his home.

Not sure how to proceed if I do find from his will this to be the case. Or could I ask his solicitor.

Thanks
 
Hi Ballybrone,

Sorry to hear of your father's passing and may he rest in peace.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding the situation here but from reading above it would appear that your father availed of the Fair Deal loan scheme which under the older rules meant that the house remained vacant (rules changed February, 2024 to allow rental).

Not quite sure where a Right of Residence in his will comes into the equation or changes the situation to enable you to reclaim the fees?
 
Hi my dad availed of the fair deal scheme yes (but no loan from HSE against his residence)and I paid his nursing home fees .My sister and family lived in the house with my dad before he went into the nursing home and are still living in the home and will inherit it.
 
So I presume you only paid the difference between what Fair Deal was paying and the overall fees, however much that was on a weekly/monthly basis. ?

I cant see any reason why a right of residence would allow you to reclaim what was paid. However the way your original query is worded almost implies he did not own the house. Is that correct?.

Ultimately it may come down to whether or not the original application and valuation of assets was done correctly so you need to be careful as to the can of worms you could open here
 
I'm sorry I'm not understanding why a refund would be applicable? A right to reside means, in effect, Fair Deal treated dad like he owned the house and took account of this when calculating his fees. which is correct. Did he sell the house to your sister > If so, he would have a right to reside / grandparent clause in them in most cases. Unless you can prove otherwise, the HSE will assume this is the case.
If he didn't sell the house to your sister, then fees are based on the value of the house. .
 
This is a little confusing but, if I understand correctly;
1. If your dad had transferred the house to your sister more than 5 years before entering FD, the full value of the house would be excluded from the Financial Assessment.
2. If, however, he'd transferred the house more than 5 years prior but had retained a right of residence, there would be a value attached to that right, I think 10% of the value.
3. If the house was transferred within 5 years of entering FD, the full value would be included in the Assessment, regardless of the right of residence.
4. If the will states that, after his death, your sister retains a right of residence, after his death, I don't see how this would be relevant to the Financial Assessment and I can't see a refund arising.
 
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