Eligibility for Assisted Living

Eligibility

Applicants for subsidized assisted living must meet the eligibility requirements outlined in the next section. In addition to the general eligibility requirements, applicants must demonstrate that they need both hospitality and assisted living services and that they would be at significant risk if they remained in their current living conditions. To qualify for assisted living a person must:

• be able to live in the assisted living residence safely, given their needs and capabilities;
• be able to make decisions on their own, or live with a spouse who can do so on their behalf;
• be able to take steps to protect themselves or follow directions in an emergency;
• not have behaviours that jeopardize the health and safety of others; and
• not require unscheduled professional health services on a regular basis.(1)

If couples are applying for a shared unit in assisted living, only one person in the couple needs to meet these criteria.(2)

If an adult does not meet the criteria, they may be refused assisted living but still qualify for long-term care.

Residents of assisted living must agree to pay the assessed client rate plus any additional charges for services, programs or supplies that they access from the provider. Residents are free to hire additional personal or health care assistance from an outside source to supplement the basic care provided by the facility to prolong their ability to live there. However, they must inform the assisted living facility when doing so.(3)

References

1. Community Care and Assisted Living Act, SBC 2002, c 75, s 26.1, online: <canlii.ca/t/84lk>.
2. Community Care and Assisted Living Act, SBC 2002, c 75, s 26.1, online: <canlii.ca/t/84lk>.
3. British Columbia, ”About Assisted Living”, online: <www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/assisted-living-in-bc/about-assisted-living>.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Seniors First BC, February 2024.

The geographic place where a person permanently lives. This is different from a person's "domicile" in that a person's residence is more fixed and less changeable in nature. A person's residence can also have an impact on a court's authority to hear and decide a legal action. See "domicile" and "jurisdiction."

Under the Divorce Act, either of two people who are married to one another, whether of the same or opposite genders. Under the Family Law Act, spouse includes married spouses, unmarried parties who have lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years, and, for all purposes of the act other than the division of property or debt, unmarried parties who have lived together for less than two years and have had a child together. See "marriage" and "marriage-like relationship."

Under the old Divorce Act, the schedule of a parent's time with their children under an order or agreement, replaced with "parenting time" and "contact" in the new Divorce Act. Access usually referred to the schedule of the parent with the least amount of time with the child. See "contact," "custody" and "parenting time."