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481-69.24 Involuntary Transfer from the Program

The assisted living rules outline different situations in which a tenant may be involuntarily transferred from the assisted living program. In 481-69.24(1) it discusses the procedures for when the assisted living program initiates the transfer when the action is not the result of the Department of Inspections, Appeals, & Licensing (DIAL) completing a monitoring of the program and the tenant or their representative contests the transfer, the program must complete the following:

  • Notify the tenant or their representative in accordance with the program’s occupancy agreement, of the need to transfer including the reason the program believes the tenant should transfer. The notice must also include the contact information for the office of the long-term care ombudsman. Note: It is important to verify the contact information is correct, otherwise you will need to reissue a notice and begin the process over again.
  • Additionally, the program must provide notice to the long-term care ombudsman, by certified mail, and a copy of the notice provided to the tenant. The program must also notify the tenant’s physician. Note: You must maintain evidence that the notice was sent to the ombudsman via certified mail or the program is considered noncompliant.
  • The office of the long-term care ombudsman must offer the tenant or their representative assistance with the program’s internal appeal process. The tenant or their representative is not required to accept the assistance of the ombudsman’s office.
  • Finally, if following the program’s internal appeal process, the program upholds the transfer decision, the tenant or their representative may utilize other remedies offered by law (such as the tenant/landlord laws) to contest the transfer.

A couple of important notes:

  • Ensure that the entire involuntary transfer process is documented and all required elements are included in the notice.
  • Include the process for the internal appeals in your policy. For example, your policy may indicate that the appeal process be conducted through a corporate location where the tenant or their representative submits a request to appeal the decision and the corporate location hears both the program’s evidence and the tenant’s rebuttal.

This is also not frequently cited but when it is, the program likely did not ensure they documented all of their actions or followed the occupancy agreement and policies.