My mother is being charged for care provided for her elderly mother who was diagnosed as having severe Alzheimer's. My gran was sectioned and put into care and a charge was placed against her property for payment of the Care Home Fees. The house was left to my mother, who lives there.

The Council have written to my mother saying that under Section 22 (8 ) of the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983, they have the same powers and remedies under the Law of Property Act 1925, esp Section 103(1), to sell the house. The debt is for £23k. They have given my mother 28 days to pay in full or they will sell/force a sale of the house. My mother is on a low income (and ironically works for the council in question) and cannot raise such a sum.

I am in the process of launching a dispute with the local Primary Care Trust and Social Services as to whether or not the debt is legal due to the 'primary need' being a health issue upon my grandmother's initial admission into care. This is dependant on accessing my grandmother's medical records, which can take upto 40 days. However, I need help in stopping the Director of Legal & Democratic Services at the local council proceeding with this as he has given my mother 28 days to pay and is being very aggressive and ruthless in his pursuit of this debt. How can I stop him?

Please help! My email is [email protected]

Matt, I have absolutely no idea, but help will come along soon. This is a great site and you will find friends who will do their utmost to advise you on the law and the steps to take.

Good luck with this. It sounds very unfair to me.

DDxx

Well They Will Have To Go To Court

Try Explaning That In Front Of A Judge

Dont Know How To Answer But Gobsmacked At Gestapo Gb

I hope so Daniella, and thank you for your concern.

And yes postggj, I am hoping it won't come to having to go to court, but if so I do hope he agrees with how outrageous they are being. It's sickening.

We were led to believe by the council that the charge against the property meant that if the property were to be sold, they would claim the money from the proceeds, but that they cannot force the sale or even encourage it. And that was basically where we stood. We have that statement in writing from them. This is a new guy on the case who says the previous advice was wrong, and who would seem slightly less sympathetic.

You also should call your MP and your local councillor first thing tomorrow. You have the statement in writing. It is outrageous if they are trying to change the agreement now.

I emailed my MP on Saturday and have received no response. I will email him again and, as you suggest, bring it to the notice of my councillor. It seems to me that, on one level, the Council's own advice has led to a very injurious position, imposed by the Council. There must be some law about getting into major trouble with the same party whose advice directly put you into that trouble? Isn't that like a civil equivalent to entrapment, if such a thing exists?

Hi Matt,

I've just alerted the site team for you so I'm sure someone with good advice will come along soon.

DDxx

Ok reported post acknowledged-please wait a little.

If your mum is over 60 or incapacitated then they can't count the property as capital. However, in any other circumstance including if your mum lived with your grandmother as her carer the decision is down to each individual Council.

Have you tried to speak to the Director? I know in Council housing the Notices Seeking Possession have to be in the name of the Director but they don't get involved in the cases. So although you may have paperwork with their name on it it's unlikely they will be aware of your case.

The other way is to get the Councillor or MP involved asking why they are pushing for the sale when the property is someone's home. I would definitely try the Councillor as all their work is around the Council whereas MPs have Government commitments.

How long has your mother been living there? If she was there before and perhaps acting as carer she is more likely to get sympathy than if she moved in there after your grandmother was put into care.

Forgot to post this advice guide.

16_Care_home_fees_paying_them_in_England_2009.pdf

Thank you for your reply. I had assumed that the Council had legal grounds for pursuing as aggressively as they are.

My main questions really are a) is there a way of halting the proceedings whilst we order a review of the alleged debt and appeal against its validity, and b) can the Council reasonably take such draconian measures when the action taken (or lack of) was as a result of their own advice? Is that legal?

Hi there, I'm sorry to hear your mum is in this situation. I assume she is living in the property? how long has she lived there?

You say you have a letter from the council stating they will not force the sale of the property? this would be very useful if you have to go to court to defend. You must try to get an appointment with your MP - he or she will have a surgery in your area on certain days of the month - who is it?

If they do proceed with a forced sale action then you can defend in court, we will help you with that.

If there is almost a month before they take any action then you should have time to get the MP involved.

Ell-enn