Resident Rights in California Assisted Living and Board and Care Homes

Assisted living communities and board and care homes are licensed in California as residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs). Their residents' rights sit in two places. The first is the Resident's Bill of Rights, Article 2.5 of the RCFE chapter of the Health and Safety Code, sections 1569.261 to 1569.269. The second is the personal rights regulation in Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, section 87468 and the sections that follow it.

Section 1569.269 lists 31 rights and says they are in addition to any other rights provided by law. A person does not give up the right to vote, to manage money or to make decisions by moving into a care home. The same list applies in a six-bed house and in a large community, including memory care.

This page summarizes the statute. It is not legal advice. For a specific situation, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman or an elder law attorney can tell you how the rules apply.

Among the rights in section 1569.269, a resident has the right:

• To be treated with dignity in personal relationships with staff, residents and other people.
• To a reasonable level of personal privacy in accommodations, medical treatment, personal care, visits, phone calls and use of the internet.
• To safe, healthful and comfortable accommodations, furnishings and equipment.
• To make choices concerning daily life in the home.
• To reasonable accommodation of individual needs and preferences, including room and roommate choices, unless health or safety would be endangered.
• To share a room with a spouse, domestic partner or a person of their choice when both live in the home and both consent.
• To written notice of a room change at least 30 days in advance, unless the resident agrees to it, it is required to fill a vacant bed, or it is an emergency.
• To have relatives and other people of their choosing visit during reasonable hours, privately and without prior notice.
• To be free from neglect, financial exploitation, involuntary seclusion, punishment, humiliation, intimidation, and verbal, mental, physical or sexual abuse.

The statute gives a resident the right to care, supervision and services that meet their individual needs, delivered by staff who are sufficient in numbers, qualifications and competency. It gives the right to food of the quality and quantity needed to meet nutritional needs.

A resident has the right to take part fully in planning their own care, to attend meetings about it, and to bring people of their choice into that planning. They may request, refuse or discontinue a service. They may select their own physicians, pharmacies, privately paid personal assistants, hospice agency and health care providers, in a manner consistent with the admission contract and the home's rules.

Records belong in this group too. A resident has the right to confidential treatment of their records, to review all of them promptly, and to buy photocopies. The home must provide the copies promptly, in no more than two business days, at a cost that does not exceed the community standard for photocopies. A resident must also receive written information about the right to make an advance health care directive.

A resident has the right to manage their own financial affairs, to keep and spend their own money, and to keep and use personal possessions. A home may not require residents to deposit personal funds with it.

The law also limits what a licensee, or a licensee's spouse, relative or employee, may do. Outside of approved continuing care agreements, they may not accept appointment as the resident's guardian or conservator, serve as the resident's agent under a power of attorney, become a joint tenant on a resident's account, or become the resident's representative payee without written and documented consent. They may not borrow money from a resident without a notarized written agreement that sets out repayment and is given to the resident.

On fees, a resident has the right to an admission agreement that describes how service needs are evaluated and gives the fee schedule, and to written notice of rate increases. Our guides to the admission agreement and to rate increases cover those rules.

A resident has the right to move out. A resident is also protected from involuntary transfers, discharges and evictions that violate state law. A home may evict only on grounds listed in state law or regulation and must follow the required steps, which are explained in California's assisted living eviction rules.

Health and Safety Code section 1569.267 puts duties on the home. At admission, a staff person must personally advise the resident and the resident's representative of these rights and give them a complete written copy. Both sign and date a copy, which goes into the resident's record.

The home must post the rights prominently in areas residents and their representatives can reach. They must be posted in English and in any other language that is the only language 5 percent or more of the residents can read. The home must give all staff initial and ongoing training on residents' rights, and must post the phone numbers and addresses of the local licensing office and the Ombudsman program where residents can easily see them.

Two more rules protect people before they move in. A home may not discriminate against an applicant or a resident based on sex, race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, registered domestic partner status, ancestry, sexual orientation or gender identity. And nothing a resident is required to sign for admission may make them waive benefits or rights they have under the RCFE chapter or under other state or federal law.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. Complaints about a licensed home, including neglect, abuse or unsafe conditions, go to California's Community Care Licensing Division. The Department of Social Services says your name stays anonymous unless you give permission to use it, and that the local licensing office makes an unannounced visit to investigate within 10 days of receiving a complaint.

The Long-Term Care Ombudsman is independent of the home and of the licensing agency. The California Department of Aging says Ombudsman representatives help resolve problems that include violations of residents' rights or dignity, poor quality of care, and improper transfer or discharge, that services are free and that complaints are confidential.

Residents may also raise grievances inside the home without reprisal, and the home must respond promptly. Health and Safety Code section 1569.37 bars a licensee or its employees from retaliating in any manner, including eviction or the threat of eviction, because a person filed a complaint with the department or the Ombudsman. The steps are set out in what to do about a complaint.

Hamssa Benrekia is a senior living placement specialist in Torrance who helps families in the South Bay and Harbor area of Los Angeles County find licensed board and care homes, assisted living and memory care. She goes on tours with families and can point out where a home posts its rights and licensing notices. She is not an attorney or an enforcement agency, so rights disputes belong with the Ombudsman, licensing or a lawyer. More topics are in the California Assisted Living Placement Guide. To talk about a search, contact Hamssa.