Assisted living flats to rent not buy?

[NetZeroZealot]

Do they exist?

I have heard it is hard to sell these assisted living places on so I thought rental could be a more practical option.

DP live in a large but poorly maintained house and I'm wondering if they wouldn't be more comfortable elsewhere? They are reluctant to spend money doing the things that need doing so it is only going to get worse and is stressful when things go wrong.

The capital they would get from selling their home would fund a rental for the rest of their lives.

The other option would be a live in carer but they are not at that point yet - it's more the practical aspects of daily life they are struggling with.

They do exist, Retirement Villages is ione of a number offering a rental option. They are a bit more complicated than normal renting with service charges, extra costs for care etc so it’s important you really do your research and get legal advice re the lease etc and any costs you might be responsible for at the end of the tenancy.

Yes apparently they do exist. Be very careful about what you are looking at and what support is really available - though it sounds like in terms of personal support your parents don't need much.

'Supported living' is most often used to describe specialist housing for people with learning disabilities and sometimesphysical disabilities too. 24 hour trained team on site, that kind of thing.

'Retirement flat' sounds much more like what your parents might look at. I think 'sheltered housing' and 'warden controlled housing' fit here too. But there may not be much support there. My mum was in one for 2 years - there was a person on site Mon to Fri mornings only who could relay information and organise coffee mornings, and a handyman who could come in and do small jobs - this was brilliant. Also there were flashy communal facilities (a pool) which to be fair, my mum actually used. Every development is different though - some are less flashy (and less expensive in service charges) but offer a bit more meaningful support.

The service charges were tough for my mum to afford, theyre not well designed fit good outlok or natural light, a lot of them are heated surprisingly poorly with electric storage heaters that cost a fortune (so inevitably my mum wouldn't put them on much and was miserably cold unless i made her turn them on). But it was brilliantly located a few yards from the centre of a village. And the handyman was great.

'Extra care housing' is a lot more support available 24/7, though inevitably costs more. I personally think it's a great option to go for if parents are reaching the point of not coping with house stuff, as the frailty is only going to increase unfortunately.