Few subjects worry farming families like nursing home costs. An uncapped 7.5% annual contribution against the value of a farm could, over a long stay, consume a holding built over generations. The Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Amendment) Act 2021 changed that: since October 2022, family farms can qualify for the same 3-year cap that applies to the family home — but only where the statutory conditions are met and a family successor gives a binding six-year commitment.
The 3-Year Cap, In Outline
- The general scheme assesses 80% of income and 7.5% per year of asset values towards care costs.
- The family farm can be capped at three years’ contribution (a maximum of 22.5% of its value) where the conditions are met.
- A family successor must be appointed and must legally commit to running the farm for at least six years, with recoupment if the commitment is broken.
- Transfers made within the previous five years are generally still assessable — the scheme looks back.
- Deferred contributions on land can be secured by charging order and repaid from the estate under the nursing home loan provisions.
Where the Legal Work Comes In
Fair Deal decisions are legal decisions as much as care decisions: who should be the family successor and what their undertaking really commits them to; how the application is documented; how a charging order will interact with the will and the intended succession plan; and — above all — whether transferring the farm well in advance would take the question off the table entirely. Where capacity is failing, an Enduring Power of Attorney made in time is what keeps these options open. We advise families at every one of these points.
Worried About Fair Deal and the Farm?
Talk it through before decisions are forced on you. Early advice keeps every option open.
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