Care Homes

Our specialist knowledge of the legal issues in the care home sector gives us a competitive advantage over firms with a more ‘generalist’ approach and allows us to provide a unique perspective on common problems.

As a firm we have a genuine commitment to helping operators and owners provide the best possible care services and offer a full suite of care home services including:

• Employment Law and HR Advice
• National Minimum Wage
• Finance & Security Documentation
• Property Aspects of Care Homes
• Regulatory Matters & Dispute Resolution
• Resident & Supplier Contracts
• Sales & Purchases
• Defamation claims and crisis management
• Care home operator and owner training and seminars

Our expert team

Led by Giles Clegg, our dedicated lawyers are increasingly receiving recognition (at both a regional and national level) for their expertise and knowledge of the legal issues that arise in connection with the purchase, operation and sale of care homes. This is backed up by the positive feedback that our team regularly receives from clients, with one of the team’s major care home clients commenting recently that:

“…their personal approach, sector knowledge and experience is what sets them apart.”

Contact Giles Clegg

Finance and Security Documentation Advice for Care Home Owners

The Residential Care Homes team are experts in advising on all aspects of the finance of care homes and related borrowing and security arrangements.

We can assist principal private lenders to a group of owner and operator companies;

• advising owners/operators who have breached banking covenants;
• advising lenders on their security as part of a group reorganisation;
• revising lending and security arrangements in connection with the sale and leaseback of properties.
• funding for the development, improvement or ongoing running of a care home;
• advising on associated security and guarantees required by a lender;
• advising on deeds of priority which may required between secured lenders; and
• restructuring and refinancing of care homes.

Our focus is on making transactions run smoothly and efficiently. For lenders we look to achieve solid security on their specified terms.  For borrowers we look to explain the technical aspects of security arrangements in terms that can be readily understood.  Our experience enables us to know what is fair and reasonable.

Property Aspects of Care Homes

From individual owners of residential care homes to larger care home groups, our care home team of specialist lawyers works with a growing portfolio of clients and has a close affinity with the care sector.

1. Acquisition and Disposals

Our experienced team advise care home operators and investors on all property aspects of the acquisition and disposal of existing care homes, including sale and leaseback transactions.

2. Newbuild Projects and Developments

We frequently advise clients on the development of new build care homes from site acquisition through to practical completion and on the completion of major alterations to existing care homes.

3. Refinancing and Restructuring

We act on behalf of care home owners and operators in the refinancing and debt restructuring of their care home portfolio.

4. Leases

Our property solicitors have vast experience of the negotiation and completion of care home leases and is able to offer practical and commercial legal advice in order to best protect our clients’ interest.

Regulatory and Dispute Resolution

The regulations set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 governs all service providers in the health and social care sector. Ensuring everyday compliance with the essential standards of quality and safety is an essential part of a provider’s daily operation.

Our Regulatory Care Team can provide expert legal advice and representation in any circumstances where the provider requires guidance and assistance. Unlike other law firms that offer general regulatory services, our specialist regulatory team advises only care homes (with or without nursing) and domiciliary care providers.

We offer fixed fee products which include services tailored to meet our clients’ individual needs to enable them to have a clear understanding of costs at the outset and budget accordingly.

We provide a wide range of regulatory and dispute resolution services to the care home and domiciliary care sector including:

• Applications for registration
• Regulatory compliance
• CQC inspections (scheduled, responsive, or themed), judgements and reports
• CQC enforcement actions
• Fee disputes with Local Authorities
• Contractual disputes and general debt/fee recovery
• Catastrophic incidents
• Investigation of Incidents
• Audits of  Documents
• Defensibility tests
• Representation at Inquests and other Courts or Tribunals
• Defence of Civil Claims

We pride ourselves on our commitment to providing an excellent level of service. We understand that all our clients face different challenges which vary depending on their size, business model and many other factors. We therefore treat our clients as individuals and tailor our advice to their specific needs.

Resident & Supplier Contracts

Care Home owners and operators need to ensure that they have strong and robust contracts in place in order to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and also in order to minimise the potential for disputes to arise in the future.

We have a wealth of experience when it comes to the preparation and drafting resident and supplier contracts and can work with you either to undertake a review of your existing contracts or to implement new contracts which deal with all of the key issues including:

• the payment of fees;
• fee increases; and
• cancellation rights.

We also take care to ensure that the contracts and agreements that we create for our Care Home clients do not fall foul of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations.

Sales & Purchases

We are experts in advising on the sale and purchase of residential care homes.  Recent transactions include:

• the sale of a group of three homes to another operator;
• the extraction of a single home from a larger group as part of a restructuring/refinancing;
• the acquisition of an operator of extra care housing.

Our focus is on making transactions run smoothly and efficiently.  For Buyers we will look to achieve certainty as to what they are taking on. For Sellers we look to ensure that they maximise their return and have no come-backs down the line.

For more information, read our guide to buying a care home, one of our many success stories or get in touch using our enquiry form:

Get in touch

For comprehensive, expert advice on all aspects of care home and residential home ownership, sales, contracts and purchases, contact us today. We have three offices in Yorkshire, in Leeds, York and Sheffield, and our solicitors are waiting to hear from you.