An elderly woman over eighty, widowed and childless, applied to the Ruijin Second Road Sub-district Office to act as her guardian for admission to a care home. She agreed to bequeath her Huaihai Road flat to the sub-district, which would sell it through an agency, apply the proceeds to her care, and retain any balance for a community fund for the elderly. Relatives were excluded.

Issue

Whether such an arrangement — a bequest coupled with a care obligation — is enforceable, and whether the institution discharged its obligations.

Outcome

The court upheld the agreement, finding that it was freely made with capacity, that the sub-district and the community committee had performed the care obligations over many years, and that the disposition of the balance was valid. The case is a model for “housing for care” arrangements in an ageing population.