Dementia-ready housing design criteria for general needs housing

The guide highlights the expected rise in dementia cases in the UK, emphasising the need for “dementia-ready” housing to support independent living for affected individuals.

The West Yorkshire Dementia-Ready Housing Taskforce has created ten criteria to enhance housing for people with dementia, focusing on comfort, accessibility, and maintaining familiarity.

This approach encourages proactive design or retrofit adjustments to make homes supportive and energy-efficient, especially for those with dementia, to improve well-being and reduce future adaptation costs.

Read on to find out how these design standards can be implemented across new and existing housing to meet the growing need.

For more on the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Dementia-Ready Housing Taskforce and to read about its achievements, visit here (opens new window).

And for more resources on housing and dementia, visit the Housing LIN’s dedicated webpages which also enable you to access the APPG Inquiry Report, Housing for People with Dementia – Are we ready?