Could I be forced to sell my house to pay fees if my spouse has to move into nursing home?

Reader question: My husband and I retired to France 12 years ago. We own our house and live off our pensions. If one of us needed to go into a nursing home, would the other have to sell the house to pay for his/her care? And if one spouse dies and nursing home care is required for the survivor, would care costs still be covered once money raised from selling the marital home is used up?

 To address your first point, no, the other spouse should not have to sell their home to pay for the other person’s nursing home costs.

When choosing a nursing home, you should firstly look for one that suits your needs and budget (but bearing in mind possible help with funding, as outlined below), with those run by the public sector usually costing less than privately-run homes, if your means are limited. 

Homes, or a local information point for older people, can tell you more about fees and advise on funding.

The link provided also has a directory listing many individual care homes (EHPADs). Each entry provides information on tariffs and assistance with working out out-of-pocket costs (reste à charge) after potential state help.

The allocation personnalisée d’autonomie (APA) benefit can help pay towards the ‘dependency’ part of home fees and official information on this states that when working out how much you can obtain, the departmental council will look at your income coming in, as a couple each month, divided by two. 

If you own property other than your main home, this can be factored in, but the main home is excluded from the calculation.

People on low incomes may also obtain further council help called aide sociale à l’hébergement (ASH), towards the accommodation element of fees and some homes have tariffs at affordable rates, fixed by the council, for people on this benefit (they are described as habilité à l'aide sociale).

The council looks specifically at income streams of both the applicant and spouse, but if the spouse is remaining in the main home, they must not be left with less than €1,044/month coming in after the accommodation is paid for.

There is more information about funding a care home in our help guide to inheritance law and wills in France.

When someone left alone, owning their own home, wants to move to a care home, selling the house or renting it out are both options to help pay the fees, but neither is obligatory and the person may still apply for the benefits mentioned above. 

Note however that ASH is repayable from your estate after you die or in some cases in your lifetime if you come into more funds such as via an inheritance.

If you sell or rent out the home, you can request ASH if the money runs out or is not enough.