Principal Residence Relief Following Delayed Sale

My elderly father is trying to sell his home and it looks like the sale is going to fall through for the third time, and we are now worried about the CGT implications. The history is 1. My father and mother bought the house in circa 2004 2. They were married and held the house in joint names. 3. My mother went into long term care in Jan 2023 but unexpectedly passed away one month later 4. My brother and sister bought a flat in sheltered accommodation for my father, ie an over 55s home with a concierge but no nursing specialist care 5. The Will transferred my mother’s share of the home to my father 6. My father moved into the sheltered accommodation in June 2023, but still visits the old house a lot to do the garden, and I think occasionally sleeps there 7. The house was marketed but the first buyer fell through as probate had not been granted until August 2023 (apparently due to a technical issue where there was “a restriction” on the title saying that “the property was held as tenants in common”). 8. The house has been actively marketed but it now looks like the third buyer may pull out. A. Am I correct in thinking that the nine month grace period after moving out wrt CGT Private Residents Relief would start when my father moved into the sheltered accommodation flat? B. Does the three-year period for the CGT allowance for selling my mother’s 50% of the house go back to when she went in to the long-term residential care? Or did it reset when the share was transferred to my father – and if so, is this date when probate was finally granted? Looking at https://www.gov.uk/tax-sell-home/absence-from-home I can see that there are extensions to the 9 month allowance but C. Does a sheltered accommodation flat count as “long-term residential care”? My father is 92 years old. I could not find any definition of this term. D. My father has difficulty in walking and has a blue disabled badge for when we take him out in a car. But am I right in believing that for “Capital Gains Tax purposes, a disabled person is a person who has mental health problems, or gets the middle or higher rate of Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance” https://www.gov.uk/guidance/capital-gains-tax-rates-and-allowances, in which case he would not qualify as disabled. E. I understand that the 9 month grace period could be reset if my father moved back into his house. Does this need to be a physical move (which is possible but inconvenient), or could he nominate the old house as his principal residence without his staying there more than 50% of the time? If not, how long would he need to live in the old house for, and what evidence would he need to provide, to re-establish it as his principal residence? Many thanks in advance for your replies.

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