Nursing home residents’ rent plan scrapped
CONTROVERSIAL plans to get nursing home residents to rent or sell their vacant family home have been ditched, the Irish
Independent has learned. The proposal was mooted by Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy to help free up houses. Around 4,000 houses in Dublin alone are estimated to be unoccupied as their owners live in nursing homes. But officials now believe the take-up of a rental scheme would be low.
The Government is also understood to have ruled out applying any potential vacant property tax on these homes.
CONTROVERSIAL plans to incentivise nursing home residents to rent or sell their vacant family home have been scrapped, the Irish Independent has learned.
The proposal, which was mooted as one of the potential measures to free up houses to relieve the homeless crisis, was shelved for a number of reasons.
Officials believe that it would likely lead to a low take-up.
Currently, nursing home residents in the Fair Deal scheme pay 80pc of any rental income in return for their care.
The proceeds from the sale of the house would also be included in a new means test to determine their weekly financial contribution to nursing home fees.
It means there is little interest in older people or their families availing of a rent or sale because they will just end up paying more to the State.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy asked his officials to examine the merits of a scheme to make it more financially attractive to residents to release their home.
One senior Government source said there is concern that the cost of the design of such a scheme would outweigh the results. Figures from the HSE show just 297 family homes have been sold by Fair Deal nursing home residents since 2009 during their lifetime – despite the many thousands who availed of the scheme.
It shows how slow older people are to part with their homes.
It has been estimated that around 4,000 houses in the Dublin region alone could be unoccupied while their owners are living in nursing homes.
The Government is also understood to have ruled out applying any potential vacant property tax on these homes.
This would amount to nursing home residents who already contribute to their care under Fair Deal being taxed on the double.
Age Action gave a cautious response to the proposal
when it was first suggested.
The money generated from the rent or sale of the property had the potential to help many nursing home owners to make it easier to pay top-up charges imposed by private nursing homes for social activities, therapies and other services.
It would also help struggling families, who have children and need spacious accommodation to find homes to rent.
But Age Action’s Justin Moran also warned that it was essential any change to the Fair Deal scheme needed to be about supporting older people who wished to rent out their homes and that attempts to put them under pressure would be unacceptable.
Many nursing home residents are comforted by the thought they can still turn the key in their own front door, even if they are there on a short visit.
The family home is full of memories and not regarded as an asset they want to generate income from.
Most Fair Deal nursing home residents pay their contribution to the cost of their care upfront in their lifetime.
Others defer the cost until after their death, which can involve the sale of the family home in many cases.
These outstanding payments are collected by the Revenue Commissioners.
Up to the end of May, €55.8m had been paid since the scheme started in 2009. A further €4.4m was due.
While not all these funds come from the sale of houses, property would have been a major source to meet the financial bill.
It underlines the significant property assets which nursing home residents are sitting on.
The news comes just days after the Irish Independent revealed how an overhaul of the Fair Deal scheme will save elderly farmers and business owners thousands of euro.
A three-year cap will apply to the 7.5pc annual contribution from farms and business premises. A farm is seen as a productive asset which is not normally sold but handed on.
The HSE is given around €1bn annually to provide nursing home care.
In recent years the waiting time for a nursing home place has been around four weeks.
It has been estimated that around €40m more should be allocated to the Fair Deal scheme next year to meet the rise in demand.