{"id":2114364,"date":"2026-08-31T16:18:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T14:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/2026\/08\/31\/french-care-home-fees-british-resident-ash-pensions-appeal\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T16:18:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T14:18:46","slug":"french-care-home-fees-british-resident-ash-pensions-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/08\/31\/french-care-home-fees-british-resident-ash-pensions-appeal\/","title":{"rendered":"French Care Home Fees for a British Resident: ASH, UK Pensions, Family Contributions and How to Appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a British citizen who has settled in France, moving into an \u00e9tablissement d\u2019h\u00e9bergement pour personnes \u00e2g\u00e9es d\u00e9pendantes<\/em> (EHPAD, a French residential care home for older people who need continuing support) raises a question that is both financial and legal: who must pay the bill, and how can the balance be challenged? The answer is not found by looking only at the sterling amount arriving in a bank account. A French EHPAD invoice normally separates accommodation, dependency and medical care. Different benefits apply to each part, and a French department may examine the resident\u2019s resources, residence status and family support obligations before awarding assistance.<\/p>\n

The main public contribution is l\u2019aide sociale \u00e0 l\u2019h\u00e9bergement<\/em> (ASH, social assistance towards accommodation). It is different from l\u2019allocation personnalis\u00e9e d\u2019autonomie<\/em> (APA, the personal autonomy allowance), which normally reduces the dependency element. Brexit does not create a special British tariff, but it often leaves the file full of UK pension statements, foreign bank records, civil-status documents and evidence of residence. This guide explains the calculation, the treatment of UK pensions, the position of adult children living in the United Kingdom, the documents to prepare and the correct appeal route. It also highlights the decisions that matter when a department refuses ASH, proposes an excessive contribution or seeks payment for an earlier period.<\/p>\n

I. How are French care home fees calculated for a British resident in France?<\/h2>\n

A. What do EHPAD, APA and ASH actually pay for?<\/h3>\n

The starting point is the invoice, not the person\u2019s nationality. An EHPAD bill is built around three services. The tarif h\u00e9bergement<\/em> is the accommodation tariff: the room, meals, cleaning, laundry, administration and the ordinary hotel services supplied by the home. The tarif d\u00e9pendance<\/em> is the dependency tariff: it reflects the assistance required for everyday activities. The tarif soins<\/em> is the medical-care tariff, normally financed through French public health insurance rather than billed to the resident in the same way as accommodation.<\/p>\n

The official Service Public guidance on financial assistance when entering an EHPAD<\/a> explains that the resident\u2019s monthly bill normally contains the accommodation price and the dependency price. This distinction prevents a common mistake: treating the whole invoice as if it were a single care charge. The dependency tariff is linked to the person\u2019s level on the French groupes iso-ressources<\/em> scale (GIR, the autonomy classification used to calculate dependency charges).<\/p>\n

The GIR scale matters for APA. A person assessed in GIR 1 to GIR 4 may receive APA in an EHPAD, subject to the statutory conditions and the person\u2019s resources. The allowance normally pays part of the dependency tariff, not the basic accommodation price. A person in GIR 5 or GIR 6 does not receive APA for the dependency tariff, although the lowest dependency tariff may still be relevant to the final bill. The official Service Public summary of financial assistance when entering an EHPAD<\/a> confirms that APA, housing assistance and ASH may be combined, but that each benefit addresses a different part of the cost.<\/p>\n

ASH is the safety net for the accommodation side where the person cannot meet the authorised charge from their own resources and the applicable family contribution. It is paid by the French d\u00e9partement<\/em>, the local authority responsible for this social-assistance decision. ASH is not available at every home: the EHPAD must have places authorised for recipients of social assistance. A cheaper private room in a non-authorised home may therefore be less useful for a person who needs ASH than a place in an authorised home. The home\u2019s status should be checked before signing a contract or relying on a proposed monthly figure.<\/p>\n

Service Public\u2019s page on ASH for an older person<\/a>, verified on 1 January 2026, sets out the practical eligibility points. The person generally must be over 65, or over 60 if recognised as unfit for work; must live in France in a stable and regular manner; must be in a qualifying establishment; and must have income below the accommodation costs. For a British national, the page also states that a valid residence permit is required in addition to stable and regular residence. The dossier should therefore identify the basis of residence clearly, including the relevant post-Brexit residence document where applicable.<\/p>\n

The application is normally made through the mairie or the centre communal d\u2019action sociale<\/em> (CCAS, the local municipal social-action centre) of the person\u2019s commune of residence. It is not a private negotiation with the EHPAD alone. Service Public says that the supporting papers include identity and address evidence, tax notices, the last three months of pensions or wages for the resident and their spouse or partner, similar documents for the people who may owe family support, and the list of those people. It also says the application should be made within two months after entry if the applicant wants the assistance to begin from the date of entry. Keep proof of the date on which the application was lodged.<\/p>\n

The remaining sum is the reste \u00e0 charge<\/em>, meaning the balance still payable after the resident\u2019s resources and applicable benefits have been taken into account. It should be calculated line by line. Ask the home or the department for the accommodation tariff, dependency tariff, APA decision, housing assistance, resident contribution, proposed ASH and any family contribution as separate figures. A letter saying simply \u201cthe family must pay the deficit\u201d is not a sufficient explanation of the legal basis or the arithmetic. It may conceal an omitted APA payment, a wrong GIR tariff, a benefit paid directly to the home or an exchange-rate error affecting a UK pension.<\/p>\n

There is also a protected minimum for a person admitted to social assistance. Article L. 132-3 of the Code de l\u2019action sociale et des familles<\/a> (CASF, the French Social Action and Families Code) provides that resources are applied to accommodation and maintenance costs within a limit of 90 per cent, subject to the statutory exceptions and minimum. The official text refers to resources \u201cdans la limite de 90 %<\/q>\u201d. Article R. 231-6 of the same code sets the method for the minimum amount left available. The official Article R. 231-6 text<\/a> states that the minimum is linked to one hundredth of the annual minimum old-age benefits, rounded to the nearest euro, where the accommodation includes maintenance. The exact amount and departmental calculation should be checked against the current decision, not copied from an old example.<\/p>\n

The Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat explained this protection in its decision of 12 May 2022, no. 454403. It held that the 90 per cent contribution must be applied after expenses imposed by law and that an older person receiving social assistance must retain access to ten per cent of resources, subject to the statutory floor. The court\u2019s reasoning is especially relevant where a British resident has a court-appointed representative, protection costs or another expense that has been incorrectly treated as optional. Those expenses may need to be identified before the 90 per cent calculation is made.<\/p>\n

B. How are UK pensions, savings and foreign income assessed?<\/h3>\n

The means test is broader than the French tax return. Article L. 132-1 CASF<\/a> says that the assessment takes account of professional and other income and the capital value of assets that do not produce income. The official wording refers to \u201cdes revenus professionnels et autres et de la valeur en capital des biens non productifs de revenu<\/q>\u201d. For a British applicant, that wording makes it unsafe to assume that an asset or payment disappears from the analysis merely because it is held in the United Kingdom or paid in pounds.<\/p>\n

A UK State Pension is still a UK pension even when it is paid into a French bank account. GOV.UK confirms that a State Pension can be claimed while living abroad and can be paid into a bank in the country of residence or into a UK account. The current GOV.UK guidance on claiming State Pension abroad<\/a> also explains that an overseas payment is usually converted into the local currency at the time of conversion. For ASH, the relevant question is not whether the money passes through a French account. The department will want to understand the amount, frequency, legal nature and availability of the income, and may request evidence in both pounds and euros.<\/p>\n

Prepare the UK evidence as a coherent schedule. Include the DWP award or pension letter for the State Pension, statements for private or workplace pensions, annuity statements, evidence of any UK benefit, bank statements showing actual credits and the relevant French tax notice. If a pension is paid gross in the United Kingdom and taxed in France under the France\u2013UK tax treaty, attach the tax calculation separately. The taxable amount and the amount available to meet the EHPAD bill are related but not identical questions. A pension may be shown gross on one document, net on a bank statement and converted at a different date by a bank. Explain each difference rather than allowing the department to select the highest figure without context.<\/p>\n

The exchange-rate issue deserves its own page in the file. Record the sterling amount, the date received, the euro amount used by the department and the source or method of conversion. Do not average a year of fluctuating payments if the decision uses a monthly resource figure. Do not use a favourable rate for income and a different unfavourable rate for expenditure without explaining why. If the department has converted a UK pension using an unexplained rate, request the calculation and supply a month-by-month table. The aim is not to argue that sterling income is exempt; it is to make the resource base verifiable.<\/p>\n

Savings and investments require the same discipline. UK bank accounts, investment accounts, an ISA, an investment bond, a purchased annuity or a pension drawdown may each have a different legal and accounting character. A cash balance is not automatically monthly income, while an investment that produces no declared income may still raise the capital-value issue under Article L. 132-1. Provide statements and explain whether the figure is income, capital, a one-off withdrawal or a repayment. If a British property is rented, show rent actually received and the charges that genuinely reduce disposable resources. If it is empty, do not rely on the word \u201cempty\u201d alone: explain its use, condition, mortgage, legal restrictions and any realistic ability to produce income.<\/p>\n

The French tax position and the ASH position must be kept separate. French tax residence, the treaty allocation of a pension and eligibility for social assistance answer different legal questions. A UK pension may be taxable in one country under the treaty while still being relevant as a resource for an ASH decision. Conversely, a tax deduction does not necessarily prove that the whole outlay should be excluded from a social-assistance calculation. Give the department the treaty position, but also provide the practical monthly budget that shows what the resident can actually pay.<\/p>\n

Healthcare documents can also be confused with means-test documents. A UK-issued S1 is a certificate used to establish responsibility for certain healthcare costs. GOV.UK explains that a British national living in France may access French healthcare through French social-security contributions or, in appropriate cases, by registering a UK-issued S1 with the local Caisse primaire d\u2019assurance maladie<\/em> (CPAM, the local French primary health-insurance fund). The official GOV.UK healthcare guidance for France<\/a> does not turn an S1 into an ASH award. Keep the S1 and CPAM evidence in the healthcare section of the file, and the pension and asset evidence in the ASH section. A refusal to register an S1 is a different dispute from a refusal to fund accommodation.<\/p>\n

Residence status is equally important. Service Public\u2019s ASH guidance uses stable and regular residence as a condition and asks a foreign national to have a valid residence permit. A British person protected by the Withdrawal Agreement should keep the residence card, proof of address and, where useful, evidence of the date on which residence began. A person who arrived after the relevant transition period should include the visa or residence title that supports the application. A department may ask for a document that is not familiar to a UK family; answer the request with a certified copy and a short explanation of what it proves. Never leave the residence question unanswered while debating the pension arithmetic.<\/p>\n

A simple illustration shows why a written schedule matters. Suppose the EHPAD issues a monthly accommodation charge of \u20ac2,400 and a dependency charge of \u20ac600. Suppose APA reduces the dependency element by \u20ac320 and the resident receives a UK pension and private pension paid in sterling. The department must still identify which benefits are applied, what part of the resident\u2019s resources is retained, what amount the resident can pay, whether ASH applies to the home and whether any family contribution is legally justified. The family should not be asked to pay \u20ac2,680 merely because that is the difference between an invoice and a bank balance. The calculation must identify the legal component, the period and the person responsible for each figure.<\/p>\n

Finally, check the EHPAD contract before arguing about assistance. The contract of stay should show the accommodation price and the services supplied. Ask whether the place is authorised for ASH, whether the price changed lawfully, whether APA is paid to the resident or directly to the home, and whether an unpaid amount includes optional services. These questions do not replace the ASH application. They make the application intelligible and may reveal that the dispute concerns the invoice itself rather than the resident\u2019s eligibility.<\/p>\n

II. How can a British family challenge an EHPAD bill or an ASH refusal?<\/h2>\n

A. What evidence and family contribution can the department require?<\/h3>\n

The second calculation concerns the obligation alimentaire<\/em>, the statutory family-support duty owed in certain family relationships. Article 205 of the French Civil Code<\/a> states: \u201cLes enfants doivent des aliments \u00e0 leurs p\u00e8re et m\u00e8re ou autres ascendants qui sont dans le besoin.<\/q>\u201d The rule concerns need, not nationality. A British adult child living in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland does not become irrelevant merely because the parent lives in France. The cross-border address creates practical questions about service, translation, evidence and enforcement, but it does not erase the civil-law relationship.<\/p>\n

Article 208 of the Civil Code<\/a> supplies the limit: \u201cLes aliments ne sont accord\u00e9s que dans la proportion du besoin de celui qui les r\u00e9clame, et de la fortune de celui qui les doit.<\/q>\u201d Read the two parts together. The parent\u2019s need must be established, and the child\u2019s means and charges must be examined. There is no automatic rule that divides the EHPAD deficit equally among the children, no rule that takes a fixed percentage of a UK salary and no rule that makes an adult child sell a home merely because an EHPAD invoice exists. The court or department must analyse the circumstances under the applicable procedure.<\/p>\n

Article L. 132-6 CASF requires people subject to the family-support duty to indicate what help they can provide when social assistance is requested. The official text says they are \u201cinvit\u00e9es \u00e0 indiquer l’aide qu’elles peuvent allouer aux postulants<\/q>\u201d. The same article now provides a specific exemption for grandchildren in an ASH application for a grandparent, as well as other statutory exemptions. That point matters in a British family tree: a grandchild should not automatically be treated in the same way as an adult child, and a department\u2019s list should be checked against the current Article L. 132-6 text, available through L\u00e9gifrance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The procedural list is set out in Article R. 132-9 CASF<\/a>. It provides that \u201cle postulant fournit, au moment du d\u00e9p\u00f4t de sa demande, la liste nominative des personnes tenues envers lui \u00e0 l’obligation alimentaire<\/q>\u201d. The application should therefore identify the family members accurately, with their current addresses where known. Do not omit a child living in the UK simply because contact is difficult. If a person is not legally an obligor, explain why; if a person cannot pay, prove the financial position. Silence can be treated as a failure to assist the assessment.<\/p>\n

The current wording also matters for grandchildren. Article L. 132-6 expressly provides that grandchildren are dispensed from providing this help in an ASH application for a grandparent, and the exemption extends to the descendants mentioned in the article. This is different from saying that every descendant is protected. An adult child of the older person may still be asked to state their capacity, while a grandchild may fall within the statutory exemption. The department\u2019s form and the family relationship should be read together rather than applying an old family-assistance template.<\/p>\n

A child\u2019s life in the United Kingdom creates a practical evidence bundle. The child should provide payslips or pension statements, UK tax records, rent or mortgage evidence, information about dependent children, medical or care costs, essential insurance, debt commitments and any other unavoidable charge. Convert amounts transparently. A payslip in pounds should remain identifiable as a payslip in pounds, with the euro equivalent shown beside it. If the child has a spouse or partner, identify the household\u2019s shared expenses without presenting the partner\u2019s income as if it were automatically the child\u2019s personal income.<\/p>\n

The Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat addressed that last distinction in its decision of 23 March 2009, no. 307627<\/a>. It held that \u201cseules les ressources et les charges des personnes tenues envers le demandeur \u00e0 l’aide sociale d’une obligation alimentaire sont susceptibles d’\u00eatre prises en compte<\/q>\u201d. The court added that household resources may help assess the charges actually borne by the obligor, but must not simply be added to that obligor\u2019s resources. For a British child whose spouse remains in the United Kingdom or whose household has mixed income, the department should be given a clear personal-versus-household schedule.<\/p>\n

Do not let a department or an EHPAD substitute the invoice deficit for the legal test. In its decision of 21 November 2018, no. 17-27.071, the First Civil Chamber of the Cour de cassation held that the contribution must be assessed \u201cen consid\u00e9ration de leur fortune et des besoins du cr\u00e9ancier d’aliments<\/q>\u201d. The case involved an EHPAD seeking payment from family members after the resident\u2019s resources and assistance had been deducted. The decision is a direct warning against fixing a family contribution solely by looking at the home\u2019s accounting claim.<\/p>\n

The decision of 4 November 2015, no. 14-25.377, is also important because it separates two questions that are often merged in correspondence. The Cour de cassation held that an action against an alimentary debtor remains governed by the Civil Code and that \u201ccette appr\u00e9ciation n’est pas soumise aux r\u00e8gles d’attribution de l’aide sociale<\/q>\u201d. In that case, the court considered the older person\u2019s property and whether it could usefully produce income when assessing need. That does not mean every property must be sold. It means that the need and means assessment cannot be replaced by a mechanical ASH threshold.<\/p>\n

An older decision illustrates the same distinction from another angle. In its decision of 26 January 1982, no. 80-13.658, the Cour de cassation described the administration\u2019s claim as concerning \u201cla seule fraction, laiss\u00e9e \u00e0 leur charge, des frais de s\u00e9jour<\/q>\u201d. The decision arose from a retirement-home bill divided among family-support debtors. It confirms why a British family should ask for the residual fraction after the resident\u2019s resources and benefits, rather than accepting an unexplained demand for the whole stay.<\/p>\n

The evidence should be indexed and dated. The primary texts for the family-contribution analysis include the Cour de cassation\u2019s decision no. 17-27.071 of 21 November 2018<\/a>, its decision no. 14-25.377 of 4 November 2015<\/a> and its decision no. 80-13.658 of 26 January 1982<\/a>. A useful pack contains the following:<\/p>\n