Assisted Living Contract Checklist
An assisted living agreement is usually 15 to 40 pages, and the parts that matter most for cost and security are rarely near the front. This checklist walks through them in the order that affects a family's decision.
1. Who the parties are
Confirm the resident's legal name, the community's legal entity name (it is often a holding company, not the brand on the sign), and whether anyone is being named as a responsible party or guarantor. That role can carry financial obligations — read it before anyone signs it.
2. The base fee and exactly what it includes
Find the base monthly fee for the specific apartment, not the "starting at" price in the brochure. Then find the list of what the base fee includes — meals, housekeeping, laundry, utilities, cable, transportation. Anything not on that list is likely billed separately. Watch for a service described as "included" in one document and priced in another; that gap is worth a written question.
3. Care levels and how they are set
Care is usually priced in tiers or by points from an assessment. Find the current tier, its monthly cost, the full table of tiers, and — importantly — who decides when the tier changes and how much notice you get before the higher charge starts. See hidden and additional fees for the charges that live outside the care tiers.
4. Rate increases
Look for how often the community can raise fees, how much notice it gives, and whether there is any stated cap on the increase. Many agreements set no maximum. Also check for mid-year adjustment rights tied to care level, taxes, or costs. Our guide to rate increases covers what to model.
5. Move-in costs
Community fee (often non-refundable), security deposit (often refundable), assessment fee, first-month proration, and any apartment-hold fee. Confirm which are refundable and on what timeline. If you received a written offer, check that its numbers match the agreement.
6. Move-out, discharge, and refunds
How much notice must the resident give to leave? On what grounds can the community end the agreement, and with how much notice? What is refunded if the resident leaves mid-month or is hospitalized? See move-out and discharge terms.
7. Legal terms
Arbitration clauses, jury-trial and class-action waivers, attorneys'-fee provisions, and the governing state. These do not change the monthly cost but they change what happens if something goes wrong.
Questions worth asking in writing
- Can you give me the base fee and full fee schedule for this specific apartment in writing?
- What is the maximum you can raise fees in a year, and where does the agreement say that?
- Which move-in charges are refundable, and on what timeline?
- How much notice do we get before a care-level fee increase takes effect?
Have the actual documents?
CareCheck reads the residency agreement, fee schedule, care assessment, and any written offer as one set — pulling out every fee, linking each to the page it came from, and flagging where the documents disagree.
Check a contract Try the cost calculator