Assisted Living Fees in California: What Is Negotiable?

Often, yes. California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), a nonprofit that publishes consumer fact sheets on long-term care, explains that homes licensed as residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) are free to set their own rates. That covers large assisted living communities and small board and care homes alike. Its fact sheet on admission agreements tells families to use the agreement as an opportunity to clarify expectations and negotiate care needs and costs.

A home is also free to say no. Nothing in the law requires it to lower a price for a private-pay resident. So the useful question is which charges have room in them, and which rules hold no matter what the two sides agree. For how prices are built in the first place, see our guide to assisted living costs in California.

These rules come from the Health and Safety Code as it read in October 2026. They apply to licensed RCFEs. Homes that hold a certificate of authority to offer continuing care contracts are exempt from these sections.

• Every fee in writing. Section 1569.651 says any fee, whether charged before or after admission, must be clearly specified in the admission agreement.
• No damage deposit. The same section bars a home from requiring, requesting or accepting a deposit against possible damages by the resident.
• One pre-admission fee. A home may charge only a single pre-admission fee per admission. The law counts an application fee, processing fee, admission fee, entrance fee or community fee as that one fee, whatever it is called.
• No pre-admission fee or deposit for a person who receives SSI/SSP.
• Notice of increases. Section 1569.655 requires at least 90 days' written notice of a rate increase, stating the amount and the reason. An increase due to a change in the resident's level of care is the exception.
• No lump-sum assessments. The same section bars one-time lump-sum charges for a home's unexpected costs. Any such increase has to be spread over the monthly rate across 12 months.
• Rate history on request. Section 1569.658 requires each home to prepare a yearly disclosure of its average rate increases for each of the previous three years and give the most recent one to any prospective resident.

The community fee is the charge families most often ask about. CANHR notes that some homes charge nothing or a small amount for the assessment and paperwork, while others charge thousands of dollars. Its advice is to ask for a written description of what the fee covers, negotiate the amount if it is too high, or look at another home.

If a home charges a pre-admission fee, section 1569.651 requires a written statement describing the costs behind it and stating that it is refundable. The refund rules in that section, as of October 2026:

1. 1

   A full refund in two situations

   The applicant is entitled to 100 percent back if he or she decides not to move in before the home completes its pre-admission appraisal, or if the home did not give full written disclosure of the fee and the refund conditions.

2. 2

   Not moving in after the appraisal

   At least 80 percent of the amount above $500 is refundable.

3. 3

   Leaving in the first three months

   At least 80 percent of the amount above $500 is refundable if the resident leaves for any reason in the first month, at least 60 percent in the second month and at least 40 percent in the third.

4. 4

   After that

   A refund for a resident who has lived there four months or more is up to the home. Separate refund rules apply when a home closes and residents are evicted.

Beyond the community fee, the table separates what the law settles from what is between you and the home.

For many residents the care charge is the part of the bill that moves the most. CANHR explains that increased charges are often triggered by the home's own assessment of the resident, scored on a level of care point system, and it advises reading closely which services, and how often, are inside the fixed rate.

The assessment is a judgment, and you can ask how it was reached. CANHR's fact sheet says the resident or family should ask to review the process, the criteria and the assessment results used to decide a change in care level. If your relative has just left a hospital, ask whether the home will reassess after a few weeks, once he or she has settled. Our guide to the care assessment explains what the home looks at.

When a care level does go up after move-in, section 1569.657 requires written notice within two business days after the new level of services begins, with a detailed explanation of the added services and an itemized list of the charges.

Ask early, before a deposit or a move-in date creates pressure, and keep it factual.

Hamssa Benrekia is a senior living placement specialist in Torrance who works with families in the South Bay and Harbor area of Los Angeles County. Talking terms with the home is one of the steps she takes with a family, after shortlisting licensed homes and going on tours with them. She is not an attorney and does not give legal advice on a contract. Our guides to the admission agreement and to rate increases cover those subjects in more depth, and the full series is in the California Assisted Living Placement Guide. Whether you are looking at an assisted living community or a board and care home, you can contact Hamssa to talk it through.