Ageing Parent
← All chapter sources

Who Pays? · sources

Chapter 6: The Agreement That Buys You Time

5 sources. Checked September 2026.

Every claim in this chapter is traced to the source behind it. Below is each one, numbered as it appears in the book, with a link that opens the original.

  1. Care Act 2014, s34 (deferred payment agreements).
    www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/section/34
  2. The Care and Support (Deferred Payment) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2671), regulation 9, set a national maximum interest rate a council may charge, tied to a gilt-rate formula published by the Office for Budget Responsibility and reviewed twice a year, on 1 January and 1 July. A council may charge up to that maximum, less than it, or nothing at all — the regulations do not require a fixed grace period before interest starts. Check the current maximum rate, and your parent's council's own policy on when it applies interest, before relying on a specific figure.
    www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2671/regulation/9
  3. Under the Care and Support (Deferred Payment) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2671), regulations 2 and 3, a council must offer a deferred payment agreement where your parent owns the property, their non-property capital is below the upper capital limit (see "Who pays, in one page"), and there is enough equity in the property to secure the likely debt, as set out in regulation 5 (see note 5). Outside these conditions, a council may still choose to offer an agreement, at its own discretion. Check the current capital limit at [ageingparent.co.uk/s/si-2014-2672-reg12](https://ageingparent.co.uk/s/si-2014-2672-reg12) — this changes each April.
    www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2672/regulation/12 · www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2671/regulation/2 · www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2671/regulation/3
  4. The Care and Support (Deferred Payment) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2671), regulation 10, lets a council charge either its actual administration costs or an average figure across its caseload, with no fixed national cap. A council must give an estimate before the agreement starts, and an itemised statement before charging. Interest rates vary between councils too, within the national maximum described in note 2\. Age UK and Independent Age both publish general guidance on how these charges typically work in practice. Ask your parent's council for the specific figures that apply.
    www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2671/regulation/10 · www.ageuk.org.uk/siteassets/documents/factsheets/fs38_property_and_paying_for_residential_care_fcs.pdf · www.independentage.org/get-advice/care-home-fees-property-disregards-and-deferred-payments
  5. The Care and Support (Deferred Payment) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2671), regulation 5, caps the amount a council will lend against the property at 90% of its value, minus £14,250, minus any existing mortgage or other charge on it, in the 2026/27 tax year. Check the current figures on GOV.UK — these can change each year.
    www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2671/regulation/5

Sources for the other chapters are listed at ageingparent.co.uk/sources/who-pays. Free guides on the topics in this book are at ageingparent.co.uk.