£200 week rent - Sheltered accommodation

[eggdrop]

My Mum has just moved into Sheltered accommodation after leaving her council house. She has to much savings to claim pension credit or housing Benefit I suspect council tax to. I found out today she pays £200 a week for her tiny 1 bed flat! This seems a lot. What do you think?

Some sheltered housing costs include utility bills and a service charge for a warden. Does the rent include this?

If so would seem a normal amount.

depends what the £200pw pays for.

However in all honestly if that pays for everything it’s really cheap, sheltered accomadtion in my area starts at 280pm and that only covers 4 hours per week care

Per week not pm

It depends where she lives and what’s included in that amount I think it can vary a lot.

That sounds really pricey. My mum pays £420pm and it's lovely and modern with two wardens on site and lots of activities if she wants to join in.

That seems very reasonable. A care home which i guess is the next step would be almost £1000 per week.

I assume it's not just the flat she's paying for, but extras that come with sheltered accommodation, like a warden, gardener, maybe onsite nurses and other staff and equipment.

So it might seem like a lot but when you take everything it pays for into account it probably wouldn't be possible to run the sheltered accommodation if they charged less.

Most pay for services - repairs etc additional staff possibly include most bills other than telephone - plus staff for social evenings and evening cover

Ask what’s covered

Depends. Some also include heating and infrastructure. It will include all repairs and communal costs (lounges; kitchen; laundry room; lifts etc).

No care. That is for rent and her clothes to be washed. She has to pay all other bills. It's been very difficult to get her to move as she's getting on now and will probably need care in the near future. I'm feeling guilty for encouraging this as she is upset about her savings being used. I've told her not to worry as she can afford it and once it gets to around £16k she might be entitled to some financial help.

Where in the country? What do you mean for her clothes to be washed, does someone collect them and return them ironed etc? Is there a warden on site and a call button system?

Are there any communal areas?

Is there a regular member of staff onsite? That plus communal area upkeep (gardens, shared stairwells etc) can be pricey. It’s £28.50 a day so pretty good value?

It depends where in the country. I've paid almost double that for a 1 bedroom flat before, excluding bills.

If she’s in sheltered accommodation she must be in some element of care, even if it’s low level.

It’s the definition of sheltered accommodation, and when entering this type of accommodation she would have been assessed to meet there criteria.

No care but is there a member of staff on site who keeps an eye on everyone? How are the surrounding grounds managed?

A lady I know moved into a sheltered flat in the late 90s. The flats were owned (leasehold) and the service charge was £5,000 pa.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was twice that now.

That charge included maintenance/cleaning of all common parts, use of the communal laundry, the right to eat in the subsidised dining room, an hour a week of help from a handyman and a warden on call 24/7.

She had to move to somewhere cheaper as it was eating into her savings at such a rate.

£200 pw to include rent seems pretty reasonable.

It doesn't sound expensive, especially considering it pays for extras, like laundry and a warden.

Where in the country is this? People pay easily double that for a one bed in London without laundry or warden

I think I remember that someone will check in once a day. There is a call bell for emergencies and always someone on the premises. She learnt the hard way on her first night that they weren't there to help like she expected. It was her first night there after hospital discharge and she asked for a cuppa! They told her straight.

Do you think she will pay council tax?

Unfortunately l can't think of any sheltered housing type where you can ring for a cup of tea, the alert or pull cords are for emergencies usually.

There's a lot of 'thinking' going on here.
What is/was in her contract? Surely questions were asked before she moved in and gave up her existing tenancy.

Re council tax I think it's provider dependant the warden should know- like pp it's about standard £200 pw.

My gran's was £1250 a month and she passed away five years ago, it depends where in the country she is and local rents, she paid service charge and all bills on top.

My mum pays about £140/week for a flat in over 50s housing. It includes maintenance of the shared gardens and communal hall and use of the laundry room. There is a warden that visits once a week and the flats have emergency alarms but the residents aren’t in care they live independently. I think it depends what level of care is onsite as to wether or not your mums rent is expensive.
My mum pays council tax and all utility bills too.

So it looks a reasonable amount for her to pay. She lives in the midlands for those who asked. I don't want her to worry about the money. Trouble is she's lived in a bubble for so long, she still thinks prices are the same as they were in the 90's when out shopping lol I feel better knowing someone is always there.