Assisted Living Fees in Florida — What Actually Gets Charged
In this article
Most of what families call a hidden fee in assisted living is not hidden at all. It is a real charge with a name, it belongs in the residency agreement, and Florida law requires the community to put it there in writing before your parent moves in. The problem is that no two communities use the same names, so two quotes that look identical can be thousands of dollars apart once you read both documents.
This is a list of the charges that actually exist, what each one is for, and where our two communities stand on each. Where we do not have a blanket answer, we say so, because the honest answer to some of these is that it depends on your parent.
The charges that actually exist
Community fee. A one time charge at move in, sometimes called a move in fee or an administrative fee. It usually covers the assessment, the paperwork, and preparing the room. It is rarely refundable, and it varies more between communities than almost anything else on this list.
Level of care. The big one. Most Florida communities assess how much daily help a resident needs and add a monthly amount on top of the base rate. Some use tiers, some price each service. This is why a starting figure is a floor rather than a total.
Medication management. Storing, ordering, and giving medications on schedule. Some communities bill it separately, some include it, and some tier it by how many medications a resident takes.
Second person in the room. When a couple shares a room, most communities add a charge for the second resident, because the care is per person even though the room is not.
Incontinence supplies. Sometimes the care is in the rate and the supplies are billed, sometimes the reverse. Worth asking as two separate questions.
Transportation. A ride to a doctor in Inverness or Crystal River may be included, may be included only on set days, or may be charged per trip.
Deposits. An advance deposit or advance rent is not a fee, it is your money being held. Florida requires it to be kept separate from the facility's own funds and used only for your parent's account.
| Charge | What it is | Where we stand |
|---|---|---|
| Level of care, assisted living | Added to the base rate as daily help increases | This is what moves the number here. A nurse assesses care needs before anyone quotes a total |
| Level of care, memory care | A tier ladder inside the secured neighborhood | We do not have one. Memory care is a set rate at both communities |
| Secured memory care neighborhood | A premium for the secured section | No separate charge |
| Pets | A pet deposit or monthly pet rent | No separate charge for keeping a pet |
| Meals, housekeeping, laundry, activities | Sometimes itemized | In the rate at both communities |
| Community fee, deposits, supplies | Varies widely by operator | Ask the administrator and we will put the answer in the agreement before you sign |
What Florida law already guarantees you
You have more protection here than most families realize, and none of it depends on how good a negotiator you are.
Florida Statutes section 429.24 requires the residency agreement to set out, in express provisions, the services and accommodations the community will provide and the rates or charges for them. The same section requires at least 30 days written notice before a rate increase, and it entitles a resident to a prorated refund based on the daily rate for any unused portion of a payment. When a resident moves out or dies, a refund is due within 45 days. Advance deposits have to be held separately from the facility's own money.
Florida Statutes section 429.28, the resident bill of rights, adds at least 45 days notice before a nonemergency relocation or termination of residency, in writing, with the reasons stated, and tells the resident they may contact the State Long Term Care Ombudsman. Residents also keep the right to manage their own financial affairs.
Ask for the fee schedule and the residency agreement as documents you can take home, not as answers on a tour. Read the rate increase clause, the refund clause, and the notice period. Those three paragraphs tell you more about how a community treats families than anything you will be told in the dining room.
Why a lower starting price can end up higher
Two communities quote you a monthly figure. One is several hundred dollars lower. Six months later the lower one costs more, because its base rate covered less and its care tiers climbed faster.
The way to compare them is to stop comparing base rates and start comparing totals for the same parent. Give both communities the same picture: how much help with bathing and dressing, how many medications, whether there is a transfer involved, whether incontinence care is needed. Then ask each one for the total at that level of care, in writing, plus the one time charges at move in.
We publish what each room starts at so you can tell whether we are even in your range before you make that call.
Homosassa, Florida
- Companion suiteAssisted living
- $3,500a month, starting at
- Private studioAssisted living
- $5,000a month, starting at
- Shared roomMemory care
- $4,500a month, set rate
Crystal River, Florida
- Companion suiteAssisted living
- $2,500a month, starting at
- Private studioAssisted living
- $4,000a month, starting at
- Shared roomMemory care
- $4,500a month, set rate
Our pricing page lists every room at both communities and explains what moves an assisted living figure. Our guide to the cost of assisted living in Citrus County covers the wider market.
Questions about your situation?
What a specialty license has to do with your bill
There is one more thing worth checking, and almost nobody does. Florida issues specialty licenses on top of a standard assisted living license under Florida Statutes section 429.07. A limited nursing services license lets a community provide nursing care beyond standard personal care. An extended congregate care license goes further still.
This matters for money because a community without the right license cannot keep a resident whose needs grow past what it is licensed to provide, however much you are willing to pay. Your parent moves again, and a second move costs a community fee, a deposit, a truck, and weeks of a person's bearings. Both Sugarmill Manor and The Gardens hold a limited nursing services license. You can check any Florida community's license and its specialty modifiers on the Agency for Health Care Administration's assisted living page.
How families actually pay for the total
Once you have a real number rather than a starting figure, the question becomes how to cover it. Most families use a combination of Social Security, a pension, savings, and often the sale of a home. Medicaid can help pay for the care part of a stay for people who meet its medical and financial rules, and both of our communities accept Medicaid. A wartime veteran or a surviving spouse may qualify for VA Aid and Attendance, which is paid to the person rather than to the community. A long term care policy bought years ago may pay a set daily amount.
Our page on assisted living that accepts Medicaid in Citrus County explains how that works here, and our guide to assisted living in Citrus County lays out every licensed community in the county side by side.
The one question to ask on every tour
Ask this, in these words: what would my parent's total be in the first month, and what would change it in the first year?
A community that can answer both halves plainly, and hand you the agreement that says so, is telling you how it will behave when something changes. One that cannot is telling you something too. Come see Sugarmill Manor in Homosassa or The Gardens in Crystal River, or call or write us and we will go through ours line by line.
Frequently asked questions
What hidden fees do assisted living communities charge?
The common ones are a one time community fee at move in, a monthly level of care charge that rises with how much daily help a resident needs, medication management, a second person charge when a couple shares a room, incontinence supplies, and transportation. Florida requires every rate and added charge to be written into the residency agreement before move in.
Does Florida law require assisted living fees to be disclosed?
Yes. Florida Statutes section 429.24 requires the residency agreement to set out the services and accommodations the community provides and the rates or charges for them, and to give at least 30 days written notice before a rate increase.
Can an assisted living community raise the rate without warning?
No. Florida requires at least 30 days written notice of a rate increase. If a resident moves out or dies, a prorated refund based on the daily rate is due for any unused portion of payment, within 45 days.
Is there an extra charge for memory care or for keeping a pet at your communities?
No. Memory care is a set rate at both communities with no separate charge for the secured neighborhood and no level of care ladder inside it, and there is no separate charge for keeping a pet.
How do I compare two assisted living quotes fairly?
Give both communities the same picture of your parent's needs, then ask each for the total at that level of care in writing, plus every one time charge at move in. Comparing base rates alone hides the charge that moves the number most.
Sources
- Florida Statutes section 429.24, residency agreements
- Florida Statutes section 429.28, resident bill of rights
- Florida Statutes section 429.07, assisted living specialty licenses
- Agency for Health Care Administration, Assisted Living Facility
- Florida Administrative Code chapter 59A-36, Assisted Living Facility
Written by
Community Relations Director
Cameron Hernando Clark is the Community Relations Director for The Manors of Citrus. He writes this family guide to help Citrus County families make sense of assisted living and memory care, drawing on the day to day of running two family owned communities on Florida's Nature Coast.
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